Naruto: Kikai-Tekina Teikoku
by Death's Crusader15
Summary: -Part 3- Konohagakure is gone. The village leaders are no longer in control of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, instead a man known as Jakob has taken control using technology far beyond that of this universe. Naruto must join forces with the Suna Rebellion, led by Gaara, to stop this empire from ruling the entire world. Unfortunately life isn't always kind to the "good guys".
1. Prologue

Prologue:

Devastation

**AN(Author's Note): The final part of the trilogy. Kikai-Tekina Teikoku is the title, I am gonna go ahead and tell you the translation is "Mechanical Empire". I had planned on putting a summary of Sekai Saikyō No and Hebi To Manto for you people too lazy/discouraged to read the first two parts, but after skimming just Part 1 and attempting to write one; there is waaaaay more need-to-know information than I can write in a few paragraphs.**

**Remember if the chapter is a decimal, ie: Chapter 20.2, 20.3, etc., it is either a past event or something that is happening meanwhile during the same numbered chapter. Review if you have time, but no "flaming". It's just cruel. Finally, as a change, I am going to write in this "left" format for seemingly easier readability. That's it, here is the story.**

This white space was a familiar area for Naruto. He had seen it multiple times already in many situations, but only during the most dire moments would he be here. This alternate dimension created by himself using the powers of the Master Sage mode. This magic was received a few months ago during the crisis against Jastin and since then been easier to control.

Naruto straightened the white robe overlayed on his original orange and black jacket and pants, which were ripped here and there from the circumstances occuring. An attempt to finish off Orochimaru, this time permanently.

Naruto's opponent was untouched, both clothing and body, at least visually. In reality Orochimaru was wounded far too many times to be counted with two hands, yet his immense pool of chakra allowed him to recover each and everytime with multiple counterattacks. He put up a tough front but his hidden fatigue was beginning to show. This battle had been ongoing for nearly three hours.

"What stamina you possess. I am, if anything, impressed. Nine Ta–... I suppose I can't call you that anymore." Orochimaru snickered, his mood was untouched by the lurid body he controlled.

"Why won't you just die!?" Naruto struggled for a deep breath of the artificial oxygen that filled the white space. "You monster..."

"Now now... Do you you have to resort to name calling? I can see through your power, its almost run its course so would you be so kind as to release it?"

"N-No... Not until we're finished..." Naruto wobbled into a battle position, holding out the brown oak staff with the small blue gem crafted in the middle of the tip. "Let's go Ice!" He shouted, calling upon an enormous pillar of ice from the white ground. It materialized as water under Orochimaru and froze once it hit the sky, leaving him stuck, unable to move. "Gotcha!"

The ice glistened, as if to tell Naruto to attack. The pillar's advice was taken in an instant; Naruto gathered an orb of chakra at the end of the staff, pushing the limits of how much energy remained in Master Sage mode. "Sage Rasengan!" He slammed the staff into the ice pillar, shattering it to pieces, then continued to ram the ball into Orochimaru's smiling face. "I will end this now! Konoha will be saved!"

"Hahahahah! If only it were so easy!" His sinister voice gloated.

"Just DIE!"

The world fell apart around them both, Naruto could no longer keep it together with such a low amount chakra remaining. A illuminating flash blinded out everything visible by both ninja, sight then returned to them, now across from each other standing in rubble unharmed.

"What...the hell?" Naruto ignored his enemy entirely, being caught off guard by the scenery of wreckage. He tightened his grip around the Sage's staff, full of sudden rage. "Where are we at?"

The sight was horrible. The entire ruin was leveled but differed greatly. It outstretched as far as Naruto could see in every direction, the only notably changes were a few small craters surrounding one that was nearly one hundred times larger that dug far into the earth. Only a few bodies littered the ground, although those were more than enough to disgust him.

"Where is this?" Naruto continued to gape over this travesty. "Orochimaru! Where is this!?" He turned to the enemy for answers.

"Where? Well... You are the one that has mastered the sage power. You should know where you are being spit out." Orochimaru lectured, his sly voice disturbed Naruto. "Hahaha... But if you really must know." He stretched out his arm and pointed to the east of them, directly right.

Naruto followed the target of finger with his eyes. A large pile of what looked to be a mountain of some sort was the location. Some of the rocks had a familiar tan coloring. This did not sate his curiousity for the question remained unanswered. "What?"

"Hmhmhmhm... Hahahahaha!" Orochimaru chuckled as hard as he could. "You truly are incompetent. Hard to believe how much fatigue you inflicted on me over these past hours. Fool! Feast you eyes upon Konohagakure!"

"Wh..." Naruto's brain finally remembered the familiar rock. The Hokage Stone Faces. "N-No... No. No no no no no noooo!" Denial flooded his head without any reason for being there. "What the hell!?"

Orochimaru examined the entire field around them. Joy was overflowing his existence but confusion had found its way in as well. _This very well does seem to be the village but... This place looks to be abandoned– has been for at least month... I suppose I must have Kabuto enlighten me on this 'Sage Magic'. Ah, if Kabuto managed to escape in time. Warusuke did, no doubt. The Sound ninja four... No, almost certain._

Naruto punched Orochimaru in the stomach with all his remaining strength. "Why did you do this!?" He let loose a second face punch and a final neck kick to throw the Sound ninja many meters back. "It...wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to win."

"You..." Orochimaru got off the rubble and wiped away the blood from his mouth. "You really are a child. It seems that you haven't aged with your body– unlike Sasuke. Without the beast sealed within, you are just a child."

Naruto was overwhelmed by this, it never once occured to him that the village would fail to be protected. He let out a deep breath, allowing the Sage power to recede, along with the robe and staff. Orochimaru grunted then suddenly tumbled to the ground, a mysterious man was behind him, a small silver dagger in hand. "Who the hell are you?" A response left Naruto's mouth before he himself had realized it.

"The newest replacement for the Knight Order's top three generals. But... You probably want my name, right?" The man laughed cheerfully, he seemed to have experience but did not look a day over twenty-five. His hair was short and spiked with a sort of aqua blue color, aiding his happy look. Spread about the village were people wearing the same bright silver armor that he did. "Name's Leon Kuwagawa. I am here with the expedition squad; to scout any anomalies in the ruins. Don't bother introducing yourselves, Orochimaru and Naruto Uzumaki, we knew you both would pop up eventually."

"You did? No...wait. Is this really Konohagakure!?"

"Of course silly. Look." He dropped down to pull the carcass of a dead body from the rubble, it was a Leaf Jonin in his middle ages. "See. Look at that leafy headband."

"Bu... How!?" Naruto ignored this man's ignorance to ask the only question that mattered to him.

"Geez. You are like reeeaaally stupid bro. Two meteors, summoned by some sort of obviously forbidden jutsu, collided with Konoha. It's pretty severe you know. An entire twenty miles around this place has been effected with some sort of damage. Since the village was the place of impact, it was annihilated."

"When did all of this happen?"

"Ehhh... I believe about ten years ago."

"What!? What the hell!?" Naruto panicked. "Where is everyone!? Wha–"

Leon interrupted Naruto with an obnoxious laugh. "Ahahah...ahah... It... It was a joke..." He snickered while trying to regain composure. "It happened twenty-two days ago..."

Naruto shook his head, worry and anger as well as a multitude of other emotions overtook him, until he settled on what to say. "What did you do to Orochimaru?" His eyes hovered over the Sound ninja who was completely immobilized.

"Yeah... Forgot 'bout him... This dagger is coated with a special poison made from a load of other poisons. As well as a special blade that neutralizes the bodies immune protection. Combined they not only kill all white blood cells and immunities, they turn the bodies own defenses against itself. So he is being killed by the second by his own body."

"What's to stop me from escaping this body?" Orochimaru calmly asked.

Leon pretended to be confused. "I don't know... Only the paralysis poison I mixed in and..." He stomped down hard on Orochimaru's torso. "My foot."

"So this almost a month in the future?" Naruto continued his search for answers.

Leon stared down at Orochimaru with a small smile. "You got it. I suppose the reason has to do with whatever power you attained to rival Jastin? Mastering the Sage mode..."

Naruto nodded, a sudden realization hit him in the head. "Hold on! Where is everyone? My friends a-and the villagers? And Sakura!?"

"Calm down. Of the oh... Thirty thousand people living here... about fifteen remain. Maybe a little less. I don't know about any of your friends and by Sakura, do you mean Sakura Haruno?"

"Y-Yeah. Is she okay!?"

"Not a scratch on her...dead body."

"What!? No... This can't be happening..."

"No indeed. It was a joke. She is in perfect health as far as I know."

Naruto again brushed off this strange man's ignorance. "Where are they?"

"They aren't too far but it will be a small journey. Of course, I am here to escort you to them." Leon signalled a few of the troops to give up searching and spread the word to the whole squad. "I trust you will comply?"

"Yeah. If you don't mind me asking a huge load of questions along the way." Naruto agreed to travel with Leon, despite his suspicious answers.

"No problem. I am really a people's person so it won't bother me in the slightest." He walked past Naruto toward where the gate once stood, his armor clanked and clacked with each step, it was heavy yet did not look at all overencumbering.

"Woah. What about Orochimaru?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry, he'll die in minutes." Leon laughed again. He seemed to be able to with very little provoking; another trait of his cheerful demeanor. "Come with me, I have a carriage outside the gate."

Naruto nodded in compliance, a large quantity of question weighed down his mind, almost slowing each step. This single month seemed to have held a lot more history than years could manage, perhaps even world changing history.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

A Dead Snake And A Contract

In a shack far from the heart of Konohagakure on a small mountainous hill, Sasuke resided. He decided to take a temporary break from the huge array of events that had occured over the last year to train himself in mastering the Sakkaku Sharingan. The cabin was made completely of old wood from the trees that used to be in it's place and was a safe haven from most of the "idiotic" people in the world. It had been twenty-two days since the two meteors decimated the Leaf Village, twenty-two days since he was beaten more than half way to death by the artificial Sound ninja.

Sasuke sat at the single chair in the cabin next to a table that had old food spread about it, endulging in the meat of a cow that he swiped from unlucky farmers that attempted to make refuge at his shack while he was away. He got up and walked to the only window, a strange premonition crept up in his mind. _That's Naruto... Is he finally back? Heh. Good. I can't wait to see what he makes of this world now._

His eyes skimmed the burned land surrounding the village, black bangs falling into them were pushed aside. "You're there aren't you? With Orochimaru too... Good. I was beginning to grow bored of this...well for me, peace." An unlucky bug was crushed under his foot as he moved over to the bed he had covered with raggedy clothing. "I am exploding with chakra; ready for my first kill."

Sasuke pulled on black pants that he killed an Anbu for many months back, then put on a lightly grayed shirt with loose long sleeves, finally shoving on two black arm-guards with shuriken tucked in them and sandals. His hair was still a quarter of the way down his back and bangs almost over his eyes, vanity was never too important to him.

"The Akatsuki...is dead. Konohagakure...gone." An older man's voice startled the newly equipped Uchiha. "Orochimaru is soon to follow. Hmhmhm... What's next I wonder?"

"Who– where the hell are you?" He turned in circles to find the source of the strange words.

"Hmhmhmhm... My name is not in the least bit important, but the name you can call me would be... I always liked the name: Yemma. Where am I? Right behind you." The older man stepped out of a dark purple light in the air, one meter behind Sasuke. Cloaked in a black robe and hood, allowing only the gray hairs of a beard to be seen, he spoke. "You seem to be a successful mercenary from your work with Jastin, as well as your neutrality in this world; I would like your assistance in a small favor. It is an easy assassination."

"Where the hell did you come from?" Sasuke laughed while talking, immediately transitioning to a serious face. "Who?"

Yemma crossed his arms. "The name is a known one. I can offer a replacement for the Curse Mark on your neck as a reward, only a taste of it's power beforehand; when you finish I shall give you all of it."

"Yeah? But you still didn't answer me... Wait, what do you mean a 'replacement'? I still have the mark on my neck."

"As you may already know, the Curse Mark is connected directly with Orochimaru. So if that man were to die...it would dissolve and cease to exist."

"So... What you're saying is that..."

"Orochimaru will die."

With each step, the destroyed buildings made a clack noise against Kabuto's sandals. He rushed through what used to be Konohagakure as fast as he could. Two-thirds of a month had passed since Orochimaru left; it seemed as if he knew that Naruto would intervene in the battle against Sasuke, leaving control of the Sound ninja to his right hand man, Kabuto. Heading Otogakure was not much of a task since it was not much of a village to start with, the only problem was the lost feeling Kabuto was stuck with. Each day he would return to Konohagakure's ruins in waiting for their return.

Kabuto knew something was wrong. As soon as he saw the barely moving body, it was already almost a corpse. "Lord Orochimaru." He stated. "Are you going to get up?"

"Heheheh, of course... Is that what you want me to say? HAHAHAHAH! This is...fun." The snake king snickered. "Truly fun. At least has been. No I cannot move my body. Not an inch, even my mouth is struggling. I can feel my cells...murdering each other; I am going to die. This time. This time I cannot come back." His words smacked the floor as he lie face-down, completely immobile.

"What do you mean? You are the great Lord Orochimaru! Dying from poison? That's crazy... I am a medical ninja." Kabuto slowly pulled the man over so he faced upward. "This must be curable, my medical prowess is on level with the former Hokage Tsunade and the former Akatsuki Eisei-hei. The best out there." The words coming out of his mouth were all the truth, but all they were doing were comforting him. There was no saving Orochimaru.

"It seems my time has run out. My immortality jutsu will never be realized, at least not by me. Kabuto, I have a request."

Kabuto examined his torso. "Y-Yeah." He replied while trying to think of a way to stop the homicidal cells within him. _This is insane. What the hell kind of poison was that? What kind of connections do the Knight Order have? I... Why can't I do anything?" _His arms gave up and he stood up on both legs. "What is your last request?"

"Last? Don't be daft. When my body dies, take it back to the main base. Lobotomize it and infuse it into your own body, similar to what you did three years ago. Everything else will...f...all...in...to..." Orochimaru's words stopped, little by little. "...place." The heart could no longer manage to hold him together and he died in that moment.

"M'lord..." Kabuto threw his out to the left and snapped his fingers. Two Sound ninja dropped from nowhere. He turned around with a serious look. "Pick him up. Be careful or I'll personally kill you. Let's move."

Sasuke yelped in pain as the Curse Mark shimmered a distorted orange color. "God...dammit!" It steadily started to shrink by the second. "Fuuuuck!" He grabbed it with a tight squeeze, trying to block out the surge of pain. "W-What's... What is happening!?"

"Orochimaru is dead. The connection between the Curse and that 'man' is deep. Once his organs fail along with his body and he is removed from this world, each Curse Mark is removed as well. They vanish with him. The pain should rival the pain that he felt during those precious final moments." Yemma informed while waiting to finish their conversation about his request.

Sasuke struggled in pain for the next five minutes before the Curse Mark was no more. Not a single mark remained. No scar. Nothing, as if it never existed in the first place. The shocking pain was let off for the most part, yet it still stung constantly. "S-So who is it? The one you want me put an end to?"

"Travel north of the ruins of Konohagakure to the newly built city of Teito. It is still partly under construction, meaning the security is erratic. Take advantage of that. If you start too much of a commotion it will gather a large amount of soldiers. The probability of you surviving will quickly dwindle if the troops continue to grow."

The Saikyō No Ken clicked into the brown sheath in Sasuke's hand. "I can handle all of them with my Sharingan. It'll be easy."

Yemma let out a small laugh. "The reason to lay low is not because of the guards; the reason to lay low is because of the guard's weapons. You think you understand this world...there is still much to learn."

Jumping right to the point, Sasuke shouted. "Would you just tell me who the hell I am supposed to kill!?"

Yemma stuck out his hand, somehow cutting a hole in the mid air. The opening widened to a human size, glowing a dark purple. "Tsunade. Finish off the Hokage." The words startled Sasuke and lingered in his head even after the man left by stepping inside the light.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Journey To Teito

Naruto sat uncomfortably in one of the snug leather seats in the wooden carriage that General Leon Kuwagawa was driven in. They had been sitting across from each other for nearly half an hour in silence. The problem Naruto had was what he was going to ask this man. Dozens upon dozens of question floated in his mind and he did not know which one to prioritize. Finally he settled with, "What happened this last month?"

Leon fidgeted around to find a position to stay in to speak; his armor made it much harder to do this. He smiled. "Actually it was only twenty-two days."

"Yeah. Yeah. Just tell me—er please." The carriage bumped up as the horses stepped over a pothole in the road, leaving the wheels to take the hit. "Amb...amb uh pell be briber po peep it umber pontrol." Naruto nursed his newly attained tongue wound with his spit.

"Eh. He's doing fine out there." Leon chuckled at the young man's pain. "Anyway... You want to know what happened during your absence? Let's see if I can condense it into a few short sentences."

"No!…n-no. Tell me it all—well at least everything you know."

"Everything I know huh? K'ay... To start, the Leaf Village has been reduced to nothing by the Sound ninja. I personally find it hilarious because it seems there was only a small group of the Sound, yet they managed to annihilate the largest of the villages. The cause was a forbidden jutsu that not just any ninja could use; it summoned multiple meteors that unfortunately could not be stopped in time is what I was told."

"I know that much already... Get to the part where I'm gone."

"Like I know when you left...be patient. Anyway, Sasuke Uchiha tried to fight this 'meteor' ninja in an attempt to stop the two rocks from crushing the village. As you could guess... He failed. We can only presume that Uchiha was killed, but if Tsunade could survive while injured almost to death..."

"There is no way Sasuke is dead. He has to be put down by my hand."

"R-Right... Uh, the meteors themselves only killed less than a hundred people. The aftermath took a few thousand people looking to escape the ruined hideout near the destroyed Hokage Stone Faces. The remaining tens of thousands survived for a day until the aftermath cooled down. Leaf ninja rallied the crowds of people panicking with tough words."

Naruto thought of some of his friends taking up those positions of leadership. "Good..."

"In large groups of about five hundred; three being villagers and two being ninja, they made there way around the wreckage until finding an exit. Leaving significant markings along the path, they used birds to signify the other groups. One by one the groups escaped the village, not knowing of what was happening to each group as they escaped." Leon snickered.

"What? What exactly happened?"

"Whenever one group arrived, all of the weak potential-less ninja were killed as well as ANY resisting villagers. That is the true tragedy... Far more terrifying than the meteors, in the end about fifteen thousand people were still breathing."

Naruto hopped up and accidently smacked his head against the low roof. "What the hell kind of shit is that? Who did it? Who!?"

"Please let me finish my story..." Leon snorted, then cleared his throat. "The one's responsible had been monitoring Konohagakure for a few months now and waited for the right moment to strike. Orochimaru's assault was more than a good enough moment to make a move."

"Wait..." Naruto begged. "Wait. Who?"

"C'mon bro. You'd know the answer if you just thought about." Leon's eyes widened. "Maybe you already know the answer. Who else but..."

"The Knight Order!?" Naruto shouted in rage. "Was it you!?" He wrapped his right hand around Leon's exposed neck. Had the fox still remained within Naruto, he would have lost all control and stole Kurama's power in anger. "Why!? WHY!?"

"Let me go bro." Leon dug his fist into Naruto's stomach with incredible force, throwing him back into his seat, unconscious. "Pre-emptive attacks are not cool. I'll 'member to wake you when we get to Teito."

Step after step, the path slowly shortened for Sasuke as he walked along the newly crafted dirt road to Teito. There was no rush to reach the destination; his mind instead was focusing on the target given to him by the older man. It occured to him that even if Konohagakure is no longer standing, the Hokage is, maybe his goals were not quite resolved yet. She had managed to survive the disaster using mitotic regeneration to make her nearly un-killable, this drastic overuse in turn left her in a comatose state that she only very recently recovered from.

Walking around in the open was a mistake because of the large array of wanted posters that covered the Five Great Nations. He hid himself with a brown cloak and straw hat, the passing people were none the wiser until a strange girl noticed him. Not as "The Sasuke Uchiha", but as a stange chakra source. This hinted to him that she must be some sort of tracker ninja. "Excuse me sir," she said to him.

It was unavoidable. If she was a ninja then a chase would ensue with a small possibility of back up, which Sasuke had no time or care for. "Yes?"

"Who are you?" She bluntly asked.

"Why do you need to know?" For some reason, Sasuke couldn't think of what to do next. How do I escape? The thought repeated over and over. "And who are you?"

The short, brown-haired girl looked to be younger than eighteen but old enough to pass as such to any untrained eye. She looked completely innocent to anyone not trained as a ninja. "My name is Megami. Your turn."

Sasuke wished to save as much energy as possible but in order to bypass this person he needed to use the Sharingan. "Then my name is..." His eyes came alive, throwing the girl into a trance. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. Now get out of here." Those words were only half true, she would leave to a hidden location only to slice open her own throat.

"O-Of course..." The girl turned around toward the trees and proceeded to walk off the dirt pass.

"Heheheh." Sasuke chuckled, the thrill was rather mind numbing; it had been so long since anything exciting happened to him. The wind suddenly picked up to a rapid speed, forcing Sasuke to hold onto the straw hat with one hand.

"Is that what you thought would happen?" The girl pressed a kunai against his neck from behind him. "Uchiha... I will kill you." The blade sliced through his neck and he dropped to ground, his hat flew off into the distance. The few people on the road shrieked in surprise and panic.

"I...just needed..." Sasuke's voice was broken up between hacking noises. "to know...your intentions..." The darkness of his eyes reddened into the Sharingan, the tomoe spun into a spiked swirl around the pupil. "Sakkaku...Sharingan." His vision blurred with the world around him, it returned to normal in an instant.

"Is that what you thought would h..." The girl suddenly stopped. She was once again holding him with the kunai, the straw hat returned to his hair. Each civilian returned to their walk only to once again be startled by her attack. "What ha—" Sasuke pulled her forward and she fell over him while he twisted her weapon hand back behind her body and held it in place.

"I just wanted to see if you were really set on killing me. You have a lot of guts for a little girl," Sasuke sneered. "I too have no problem killing you." He squeezed her caught wrist and dug the kunai into her back, dislocating that arm at the same time.

"S...sssassuke..." Blood gushed from her mouth because of the newly collapsed lung. Sasuke's perception of the girl changed as the wound interrupted the now obvious guise. "You...bastard..." Her brown hair discolored into black with her clothes became black as well.

"Hehehe... What was that?" He put his foot on her back and thrusted it forward, pulling out the blood soaked weapon while damaging the stranger. "I'd ask who you were but personally I don't give a fuck and...I'm busy. Looks like your just some psycho out for my bounty anyway." The kunai was thrown into the ground next to her face.

Sasuke walked past the scared people; his eyes activated a genjutsu to distort their vision, making it seem to them as if nothing happened. The oddity of the situation caused him to think. _Stupid little girl. I got more important shit to worry about. But still... She was able to detect my chakra even with it masked. Maybe I have just gotten too powerful... Or could she be an interesting opponent? Whatever, I better go._


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Strategies

Once the meteors wiped away Konohagakure, the Knight Order took that as a signal to make their move. The soldiers hidden all around the five nations attacked each unsuspecting Kage using the new technology given unto them. The Hokage was presumed dead, the Tsuchikage was murdered, and the Mizukage was imprisoned. The Kazekage, Gaara, fended off the attack with the help of a strange man that is now known as the Kazekage's right hand. The Raikage, Killer Bee, was nowhere to be found during the attack and was captured in a forest in the northeast near the corpses of two Akatsuki member and taken to a tower prison in what is now Teito.

Gaara had since fortified his defenses with any stragglers of Konoha or mercenaries looking to overthrow the deeply corrupt government that now ruled more than eighty percent of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. This earned Sunagakure's rebellion the simple title: "Suna Rebellion". A small team was formed in order to free the captured Raikage, in order to aquire a larger force to move on the city and free the survivors of the disaster now dubbed by civilians as: "Meteorfall".

"Please do not make any rash moves without my order." Gaara paced back and forth while ordering the three ninja in front of him. The sand created room around them was jam packed with computers and engineers, it was the headquarters of the rebellion all cleverly hidden in the walls of the Kazekage's mansion. "Remember to check in to HQ every twelve hours so I know you haven't been compromised."

The three in front of him were more than just random ninja, they were the best he could spare and most, dear allies: Kankuro, Rock Lee, and a female jonin named Shiori Noroma. Lee perceived Gaara's true worries the moment he started to speak. "Do not worry. I will not allow anything to happen to us until I have saved each person those demons took. All of us will survive..."

Gaara took a deep breath. "Of course. I guess I truly am too young to control an army with these easily accessible emotions. Hrm...please remember to return as fast as possible, time is a major factor in this situation. No telling when the empire will take the opportunity to attack us."

"Of course Gaara." Kankuro promised. "Just don't worry. The three of us are probably stronger than half their army."

The sand wall behind them sizzled as a person past into the command room from outside. It was the one who aided Sunagakure in stopping the assault made by the hidden forces twenty days ago. His face hidden by a white cloth wrap leaving only his ominous red eyes to be seen and wore a standard Sand Jonin outfit with a flak jacket, this person was unidentifiable by name. People took it amongst themselves to name him: "The Strategist", for his strategies during the attack of the Order, but Gaara prefered "Muhai".

"What is it, Muhai?" Gaara tried to make eye contact with him as the man rushed toward the Kazekage.

"The empire has begun to move. In the few places to hide in the desert around us it seems they found some hiding spots. Do you mind if I put a stop to their spying while leaving one?" Muhai turned around and left as he was answered.

"...Hmm...have one survivor to send a message... Just make sure the survivor isn't loyal enough to keep attacking." Gaara moved his attention back to the squad. "Now as for you guys, remember to keep hidden and only injure those asking."

"Lord Kazekage, we will succeed in rescuing Lord Raikage at all costs. Please forget about us until our return." The female Jonin, Shiori, bent down on one knee then stood up and the three left the Headquarters after one last goodbye.

Shiori was very attractive to most men's eyes. Her medium length brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, her eyes glimmered a bright blue and her outfit was the type that made a man want to see more, an altered Jonin outfit with no sleeves, a "V" shape cut on the neck, and rather short shorts. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, she saved her squad from the false Zetsu, despite only Naruto being able to see through them. She is an ideal female ninja to all of Sunagakure.

Rock Lee, Kankuro, and Shiori hopped across building all around them toward the gate. Shiori looked at them. "According to our spies, the Raikage is being held in a small prison tower on the northeastern side of town. No doubt he is under twenty-four hour surveillance. What's the plan?"

Kankuro scratched his black hair under the cat-eared cap on his head. "I don't know... I'm better with the action parts. Maybe disguising one of my puppets as a guard and using his gadgets to unlock the cell?"

The idea was set aside in Shiori's mind as a possibility. "Lee? What do you think?"

The words flew into his ears and failed to hit his mind. Lee was engulfed in thought from what happened in Konohagakure. The scene replayed over and over in his head. His discovery of the somehow unscathed body of Might Guy in the ruins of the village changed him on the inside. With his allies for comfort, it ate away at him. "Oh... Did you say something?"

"Shi-hit, get your mind in the game, this is serious," Kankuro scolded his younger peer. He reached into a small pouch on his back and shuffled through five small scrolls then pulled out one. "I think the covert slash decoy plan is great. Crow would be the right choice."

"I will take out one of the guards and you can use your puppet to take it's place." Shiori paused for any commentation.

"Wait wait wait... I just thought that if one of us could take the place of the guards instead..." Kankuro laughed to cover up the stupidity of such a simple hole in the plan.

Shiori shook her head left to right. "Not exactly... You forget to take into account the level of our opponent. They may uncover our ploy and take him or uh her captive, if they find a puppet then there are no secrets revealed about the rebellion. I just thought you realized that already..."

Kankuro ignored the last remark and they proceeded out of Sunagakure, the wind was strangely calm for being in such a place during the fall. It was more than ominous to Rock Lee, but maybe it was only the ruined emotions that affected his intuition.

During the same moment the Suna team left to the northeast for Teito, Muhai purposely came along a group of ten soldiers behind a small hill of sand to the east of the village. These warriors were half of the spies sent to garner information, the others were not far to the south.

"Damn... Where in the hell did you come from?" The lone remaining survivor of the ten asked the enemy in front of him. The other nine were scattered around him, motionless. Expecting no answer, he continued. "You're not gonna kill me... I have seen this plan before. I guess I was lucky you chose me to sur—"

Muhai closed his deep red eyes as the soldier fell over while struggling for air. "Don't you think I know about the other squad? Rest in peace." On that lie, the air around him rippled and he vanished.

Moments later, he reappeared in the middle of the other soldier's camp. This surprise left many of them defenseless. One of the armored knights pulled a silver blade from a browm sheath on his side. The handle was bent down so when he held the blade up, it pointed at Muhai. Atop the blade was a silver slim barrel attached tightly on the back edge. "Interesting," he commented.

"You must've not seen what we can do now." The knight wrapped his pointer around a small curved trigger at the top of the handle and pulled it back. Not even a second had passed and Sand ninja fell forward with a grunt.

"A...projectile? Heh, got it," Muhai whispered. "It's like a crossbow but much faster."

"I guess you could say that..." A dark smile stretched across his mouth. His finger squeezed the trigger and a barrage of metal pellets dug into Muhai's chest, blood sprayed from the wounds as he dropped into the warm sand. "The Ganburēdo is known by us as gun-blades. The barrel on the edge is filled with a silver bullet and by pulling this trigger, it activates another trigger that forces the ammo out at high speeds. This small box attached to the blunt side has nineteen more inside and if I keep the trigger pressed for about two seconds then a new bullet replaces the old and the inside trigger starts to move automatically as a chain reaction. Well in a nutshell... And it's all thanks to that bastard Jastin."

"Da-Damn... Sh...it..." Muhai coughed up huge amounts of blood. "Bad...gamble..."

"Now die." The knight pointed the blade down at him. "Foolish Sand ninja." A bullet exploded out of the barrel. From behind, a hand wrapped around the knight's helmet and crushed in his skull. Crimson Blood and white bones splashed onto the floor as the man's body plopped down in a pile of his own mush.

Muhai laughed while he put his foot on the body."Heheheh... I can't die. Not with my abilities; I may as well be a goddamn god. Eh... Oh crap, I was supposed to leave a survivor." He checked the nearest dead bodies for a sign of life. "Ah... A survivor."

"P-Please don't kill me..." One of the knights with severe internal wounds that faked had being dead cried for his life. "Aghh... Oh god please..."

"Calm down. It's your lucky day. Run back to your master and tell what I alone am capable of." Muhai waved his hand across the dying soldier and he was fully cured of any wounds. "Go..." The man ran off as fast as he could while removing articles of armor to escape with as much speed as possible. Muhai snorted with a sigh. "Time to return to Lord Kazekage, there is no way I can let Jakob rule this world. We will destroy him and his order."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The Empire

**AN: I wonder how Naruto became so famous? I mean why does everyone love it? I like it too but still... I guess the world was at last ready for a Shōnen manga about ninjas that don't act at all like ninjas. Oh...back to the story.**

Teito was still under construction as most could see with all the materials and scaffoldings scattered about. The center of the city was built completely, consisting of a large square shaped wall and a metal castle in the middle. It stood as tall as the Hokage stone faces and stretched out nearly fifteen hundred meters in all directions. Around three of the walls were homes and workplaces of a large variety. The people hailed from Konohagakure and the people of a small continent in the southern sea where the Knight Order came from, how they arrived is unknown to the Leaf citizens.

The soldiers patrolled the entire surrounding, even the carpenters had weapons and were trained in minor battle tactics. Escape was basically impossible. Any business dealing out of town had escorts present twenty-four seven; the leash was tightened as much as possible. Of course there very few attempts to begin with with nearly every ninja being reeducated to obey the king and the civilians were not eager with no training to take on soldiers.

Those with strong minds were not able to be changed in way of thought. The Konoha 11 were obvious examples of strong minds: Shikamaru Nara was recruited and instantly raised to colonel because of his immense thought process. Ino Yamanaka is an interrogator to prisoners and new recruits. Choji Akimichi is the main power soldier used to rush enemy lines. Neji Hyuga is a tracker in the Black ops squad along with Shino Aburame and his cousin Hinata Hyuga. Tenten is a weaponsmith; to craft for the main army. Kiba Inuzuka is the owner of a shop that handles every type of animal. Rock Lee was told to escape, because of his speed, and keep an eye on what was happening. Sakura Haruno is kept within the castle with Tsunade as both of them are some of the most powerful medical ninja in the world. Unfortunately because they have those jobs, the system was corrupted with rebellious minds.

No one is allowed to choose their jobs, each person is tested to see what they are best at and are given a career based on their abilities. Leaf ninja that are reeducated are taken in as part of the army and used as powerful assests due to the entire army not being able to cast Ninjutsu aside from General Shinigami, who is one of the three of the same rank.

The sun shot down upon Teito while slowly creeping toward the horizon. Leon Kuwagawa made his way straight to the throne room of the imperial castle without a single pause. He faced the king with a bow. "Naruto Uzumaki is here. Asleep in a V.I.P prison cell."

Jakob Senshi looked down at the replacement general for Samantha, who was murdered during the seize of Konohagakure's people. Around the square gray room were four catered seats. The seat close to the king on the eastside of the room was empty, usually filled with Jakob's advisor. The one opposite on the west held the blonde Sarah, the youngest of the Three Generals at seventeen and the daughter of Jakob, meaning she was the princess. Women wore armor that was much lighter and attractive to keep sex appeal. The closer eastern seat was were Leon would sit if he had the leisure time. On the west was where Shinigami sat. His name came from the pitch black cloak and red-black scythe always with him.

Leon impatiently spoke again. "Shouldn't you call Yamanaka in to open his mind?"

"Fool..." Jakob laid back in the throne. He continued to wear the Knight's silver armor but it was adorned with gems and a red cape. The golden jewel covered crown covered his grayed balding head enough to make him adore the thing. "According to our research, Ino is an ally of the Konoha hero. If possible...make it so she doesn't know who she is probing. If that fails, call in Inoichi to do it! Go!"

Leon pretended to be polite before getting away from the room with haste. _Damn old man. I swear I am gonna overthrow that bastard and make myself king...yeah... It'll be easy. I'll just wait till..._ Completely lost in thought, he smacked into a figure in front of him.

The black robe told him before he even got to the face. Masaki. "The king said to rewire his brain so he would work with him." His dark voice forced tingles up Leon's spine. The only thing Leon liked about this monster was his cool spiky hairstyle that resembled the great Madara Uchiha.

"Yeah? How!?" The words came out with much more anger than he meant.

"Watch it... King said the brat is a simple idiot. The only options are for reeducation or death. Uzumaki is way too dangerous to be out there against the army." Masaki conveyed his message and returned to the throne room.

Leon shook his head and propped himself up. "Gotta find Ino...maybe Inoichi too, I doubt this kid can be overtook by a little blonde girl." His feet echoed in the metal halls with each step.

A younger brown-haired soldier waddled past Leon on his way to the throne room, a large scroll squeezed in both hands. Ross went from being a chunin to becoming a private in the army when taken to Teito. The Zerobi prevented his mind from being overtaken and his skills apparently laid him in the army. The large steel door slid up slowly while Ross waited to show Jakob the scroll. Once it had, he charged up the few steps and tripped in the middle of the room. "King sir... The sealing department finally managed to unseal this scroll found with Lord Raik...Killer Bee's possessions and..."

"And? Go on!" Jakob ordered the stumbling soldier. "Well? I am very impatient..."

"This single scroll has all nine...NINE of the legendary Tailed Beasts! You've heard of them right?" Ross worried if the last sentence would offend the king.

"Yes...of course. Even in the south sea, the legends of the tailed beasts wander about. This is...incredible! With this power, we wouldn't have need for the Forbidden Gems!" Jakob shouted as the awe took him up to his feet.

Ross smiled with a nod. _This is the worst possible outcome._ His thought drifted. _Lord Raikage specifically said that this scroll could never be unsealed... I guess that Eisei-hei person that did it was a liar. Crap... I hafta get Kurama back to Naruto. And take that scroll..._

**Good. I feel your anger...let it take hold. Allow me in your head and the king will die right here.** The deeply distorted voice of the Zerobi echoed in his mind. This is the first time Ross ever took a request of the Zerobi seriously. **Think about it one time...let me have the lives of those around you...**

"HEY YOU BITCH!" A loud scream threw Ross to the floor as the trance taking him over ended. The one that released it was clad in golden armor with a small green cape, Sarah Senshi, the daugher of the king. "Stop daydreaming on my daddy's red carpet and get the fuck outta here!" She leaned over the poor soldier, a whisper was spoken. "Heh... I want you to meet me in the courtyard by the reflection pond in four hours on the dot."

Jakob chuckled at his daughter's love. "Well? Leave from my carpet, low class. Don't just ignore the will of the princess!"

Ross quickly nodded, placed the scroll upon the ground, sped from the room, and sighed once the steel door slammed down. _What could Sarah want? She is scary... A tomboy in a princess's body. Well I guess she is kinda hot...wait...maybe she—No no no...well maaaybe..._

A light tap on his shoulder awoke him from the mislead thoughts in his mind. "Come on. We have a meeting in our barracks." Kanari Enjeru pulled him. She had been turned into a private as well, most chunin were given that place. They placed her in the same group as Ross because they had been same team for five years, since graduation. The silver armor made her golden hair and bright purple eyes stand out more. "Rossipoo, come on!" An extra tug yanked him forward.

"Ow! What the frick! Are you trying to pull my arm out? Because well I think you just did." Ross held out his limp arm and wiggled it a little so it would flop around. "Look...look at what you did. Ow...ouchie."

"Oh get over it." Kanari grabbed the arm tight and jogged with Ross in tow. "We might be late so HURRY!" The two ran down the main hall into another hall on the eastside then outside until thet reached a large tent with the flap out to allow entrance. "Phew... Looks like we are just in time." A sigh on relief came out.

The tent was around three meters tall and wide enough to hold an odd hundred people. It was filled with wooden tables; in the middle was a blackboard that only needed a finger to operate. On either sides were bunk beds with pretty soft sheets according to Kanari. No one ever really complained about anything except the grueling training the soldiers were forced to undertake during any day they weren't in action or back at home.

A shapely woman walked out toward the blackboard with a proud posture, hair a faded blue and over to one side, eyes the same color with thin black rimmed glasses. Her armor was slightly more equipped than the average female armor set. "Order in this room...NOW." The add-on of that three letter word silenced the eighty or ninety people in the tent. "Good. Now! This time our troop is backing the great General Shinigami on a side attack against Sunagakure."

A hand popped up in the air and at the nod of the woman, a voice came from the same person. "Colonel ma'am. You mean Shinigami is going alone, with only us to back him?"

"Yes. You only have two objectives." Her reply caused a loud surge of murmurs and whispers. "Silence!" That order forced the soldiers to obey on a whim. "Don't you realize just how strong each of Generals are? The only pushover is Princess Sarah. Shinigami himself is said to posses a legendary dojutsu and has taken on and beaten a thousand soldiers without injury! It may sound ridiculous but...when you're in his presence...you can feel the immense power weighing down on yourself. Sweat begins to form and a sudden pleasure overtakes you..."

"C-Colonel! Are you a psycho masochist or something!?" A random voice laughed from the crowd. Before long, everyone was bawling from laughing so hard.

"Th-That's enough!" The colonel shouted, silencing the whole room. "Just to give you a look of realism, only about one-fifth of you will survive this. Each and every one of you are garbage to us. Objective one: back up General Shinigami and objective two: place this", she pulled a flat circular disk out from nowhere, "on the wall. Once it is successfully placed... Run."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Break-in; Rescuing The Raikage

_Once the meeting ended, Kanari and I, as well as the other eighty people, were forced to go to sleep. They had a night patrol that always combed the castle and two guards, one stationed just outside the tent, the other next to the blackboard in the middle of the tent. The guards are so we don't desert and so nothing "sexual" occurs. I think they get paid a lot because who wants to watch a bunch of stinky soldiers for ten hours. Anyway... I gotta escape to see the princess... _Ross rolled around in the comfortable mat that each soldier was made to sleep in. The pajamas they were given were starchy and itchy which is part of the reason why we was uncomfortable but his desire for sleep was minimal, what he needed to do was escape. Ninjutsu would be his best bet, so he went with it.

Kanari also had her part in the plan. Her curiousity for why one of the most powerful persons in the world would want to see a lowly chunin was wide. "Now. Ready!" The quiet words swam over to his ears through the cold air.

"Clone jutsu." Ross quickly combined his hands to create a clone of himself. The false Ross stood up and hovered over Kanari with a grimace.

"Eeeeek! Help HELP!" Kanari threw a ridiculously believable act of being scared. "Guard help!" The screams awoke most of the soldiers to see what the situation was. Ross crawled on the outskirts of the mats toward the exit. The outside guard rushed in and the quick opportunity that presented itself was taken.

Ross escaped into the training area outside and entered the side of the castle. _Dang. She can act... The soldiers will probaly think that I actually was trying to...rape...her._ The thought dissipated as soon as it was thought up. "The courtyard isn't too far. Just gotta pretend to be a knight. Transform..."

The courtyard was a large open space in the middle of the castle with no roof. It was full of natural flowers with a small pond on the northside. Serah waited there next to the water in her golden armor, sparkling in the moonlight. Beside her was a giant sword, known as a busting sword; dug deep into the earth, colored the same gold as her armor.

An older soldier walked up next to her with a flustered face. "W-What did you want?" A quiet poof sound revealed the chunin to be under a ruse.

"I...just wanted a man in my life...someone that can protect me..." Serah's soft lips reflected the moonlight. "You are the perfect...man..." She closed in the gap between them with a step. "I..."

_Oh god oh god oh god...she does want some of this. Me...what do I say to her? Wow...in the light she is really hot. Bright blue eyes. Perfect white skin. So inno—_

"You really are a little bitch aren't you?" Serah tried to hold in a laugh. She knocked him back with both hands. "Hahah... W-Why...hahaha...would I want you? Cha...hahah. No...hrm...gotta compose myself." She cleared her throat. "I saw that look on your face when you brought in the scroll. You were a Konoha ninja right?"

Ross' crushed heart rebuilt itself in an instant. He let out a loud sigh. "Yeah..."

"I-I don't agree with daddy's method. He is a cruel leader. Yesterday he had an entire small village murdered so he could take their land. Whe—"

A scribbled sound screeched in her ear and a man's voice spoke. "Attention all personnel. Their is an escaped Leaf ninja running around in the castle. Orders are to capture or kill him. Repeat att..."

Serah put her finger in her left ear. "Oh shit. They know you got out. Damn, listen to me."

She pulled Ross' arm toward herself. "Naruto Uzumaki is here. You are going to break him out. As a matter a fact, he is in the same location as Killer Bee. So follow me."

Without a single question Ross nodded in compliance. The two of them ran near a large tree in the southern courtyard. Serah pulled a hidden lever in the grass and a small square entrance into the ground opened. "Here. Take this key." She tossed a silver key at him. "It'll open all the doors in this castle and the tower where this passage 'll take you."

"You can...probably...count on me. I hope we can meet again." Ross turned down into the passage without looking back. It was pitch black and deafly silent. It was terrifying to Ross, who hoped to whatever god out there, that there was no creature in this hidden passage. When he moved, his foot clanked against the ground. "Metal... Right. Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" He called out, a small orb of flames shot through the straight path. "Great! That flash revealed it to be pretty straightforward." Ross charged forward into the black.

There stood a silver tower to the east of Teito Castle on the outskirts of the town. It overlooked the entire Land Of Fire being so tall. It was also a prison. Not just anyone was placed in this special holding place, only criminals of high value would be here. Each floor held a single prisoner. On the twenty-second floor was Naruto Uzumaki and on the fourth floor was Killer Bee. In the middle on this prison was a machine that lifted people up and down to have easier access to the cells. The path Ross had taken led directly under the silver tower, the walls around him were now lit afire by lamp built inside the walls. After arriving he reluctantly inserted the key given to him into a hole in the middle of the wall.

The wall began to slide open, queueing him to yank out the key. A motor sound echoed in the new entrance and a large box dropped in front of him, open on one side; it took up all the space in the new entrance. Ross examined it multiple times before deciding to step in. A small control panel was plastered into its side with numbers in a specific order up to forty-two. "What? Oh dang...which floor is where I need to go?" Ross blindfolded his eyes with one hand and decisively pressed a button.

General Shinigami glared at the silent land from the fourth floor of the silver tower, even though his face was shrouded, from his mouth he clearly had a calm expression. The window around him was more than big enough to accomodate his vision. The room was like all the others with a staircase leading both down and up and a metal door with a very small window as the jail cell door. Killer Bee meditated impatiently trying to think of a way out in the cell. "Bee. Why do you persist? If you were just give us access to your mind, we could place you back as the leader of Kirigakure."

Bee grunted with a reply. "Ma brain has stuff ya don need to see, so I'ma keep it to myself and take a damn pee." He moved to the bathroom next to him, within seconds a tinkling noise echoed out.

"Yo. Black cloak guy." A voice called Shinigami from behind. "Turn around."

The General threw his right hand to the rod of the scythe on his back. He tugged it while turning around to create a dramatic scene. His hood fell back and he spun the long bladed scythe in a circle once before facing the enemy.

The ninja Shiori took a small moment to gasp. "You look similar to...Madara..." She snapped out of her trance in a snap and held up a hatchet. "I-I am here to assassinate Killer Bee." The plan to replace a guard failed with only one man there so they thought of a simple new one.

Bee flushed the toilet. "Wha-What? Kill who—me? This better be a dream!"

"Madara is long dead, although you are not too far from the truth. Ch—I even cut my hair shorter; is it still too long?" He used his free hand to rustle the black hair. "Your name is...Shiori Noroma. Sand ninja. Age twenty-seven. Seems you accel in Genjutsu and Taijutsu."

Another moment was taken as Shiori gaped in awe. "How did you kn—"

"Hahahah. This thing is great...but in retrospect I don't know why I would need it. All of my enemies..." Shinigami sliced through Shiori without a second wasted. "die before they even realize it."

"Do they?" Another voice asked him, this time male. "She looks pretty alive to me."

Shinigami looked back to see a puppet being controlled by a ninja in black with Shiori next to him. "Ah. A puppet substitution? No..." His eyes glimmered red for a second. "Shiori's jutsu. An interesting one if I do say so myself."

"Shiori, proceed with Plan B!" Kankuro yelled.

"Woah. I am right next to you, no yellie in me ear." She cleaned her ear with a pinky and held up the small hand axe again. "Plan B initiated! Black cloak guy, come on."

"My name is not that travesty." The man growled while cracking his neck. "It's Masaki. Just call me Masaki."

"Okay, 'Masaki', you sure you're ready for lil' ol' me?" Shiori snickered. "I will show you one of the best Gen-slash-Ninjutsu you'll ever see. Activate... Ninja art: Osoi Sekai." A red aura enveloped the room then vanished. "Here we go. You ready? This'll be the time of your life and then some."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Two Uchiha

**AN: Don't forget your place, the next chapter may be a little late.**

_My name is Masaki Uchiha. I am directly related to my great-grandfather, Madara Uchiha. Even four generations down, I was forced to live as his equal. The potential I possessed made it all too visible to my mother. The ninja my mother married to replace my dead father would push me to the limits of my power; training me night and day to the fullest extent of his stamina. When I entered the ninja academy after it was rebuilt from the Nine-Tails attack, I was already hundreds of times stronger than my peers. They decided to push my papers through and I graduated in the same week. Apparently I had huge potential._

_Once I aged to ten, I was stronger than anyone in my clan by far. A child, two years my kouhai, known as Itachi was said to be on the same tier as me, of course I beat him to a bloody pulp without a second thought to prove my power. They subdued and imprisoned me. I could hear their words through the cell, "That boy is too young to understand how strong he is. If he gets angry over something stupid then he may kill his own family in rage without comprehension of what he just did." Those fools._

_By the time I was fourteen I had never left Konohagakure and the higher-ups wouldn't let me use any type of jutsu. A class S seal was placed on each limb. I made it seem as if it didn't actually bother me, but, it did. It was put up with for another year until I was sick of being restrained. I had no access to the outside world besides the shit-hole Uchiha clan residence, they said when I was old enough to understand then they would set me free. I told them time and again that I comprehended everything...still nothing. No belief in me. All I wanted was to be the most powerful ninja in the world._

_An incredible stroke of luck hit. This Itachi kid went on a killing spree the next day. Once nearly the whole clan was killed, he walked right by me then stopped. "You are not involved with them, therefore, I have no reason to harm you," were his first words which were followed by, "Get out of here. all of the blame will fall upon you if you stay here." Itachi left toward one last house and I escaped._

_The wild was easy to live in with the Mangekyo Sharingan. Animals died for me and I ate them. People were cruel to me whenever I walked along the roads so I avoided them. Daily training made me stronger, more powerful than I could have ever imagined. My Sharingan evolved once more into something even stronger, a new level only written in the scrolls of history. I used it to search out Itachi once again._

_He had joined an organization known as Akatsuki. In that organization were ninja with enormous power, greater than I had ever seen. Obviously my urges to battle a power like this were taken into consideration; so I attacked them. I was twenty-two years old when I beat them all at once. A talking fly trap stayed out of the fight but I convinced eight of them to battle me. More than sweat was broken in such a high calibur fight so I left as soon as possible to hide my weakening. In the coming years it became obvious to me that I was the strongest in the world._

_Or so I thought. A man that came from nowhere known as Jastin had made himself known. When I forced him to fight me... I lost. Even though he said his power was limited to a charge, I lost. That was the boost I needed to keep going. I came across the Knight Order during their journey to Konohagakure so that they may ask use of the Forbidden Gems and decided allied myself with them. These people were looking to overthrow the ninja system set in place and rule with a strict judicial monarchy. These people were nice and I felt the need to help them. Then I Finally met Sasuke. The only other Uchiha still alive... I wanted him to replace me. He will now become the strongest ninja in the world and he must...he must kill me._

"Your jutsu is invisible?" Masaki asked after a long one minute pause.

Shiori flipped the hand axe in a circle. "Please... It already started already. Attack me."

Masaki analyzed the situation closely. "Fireball jutsu." No symbol was made to summon the room filling ball of fire that flew out the window opposite him while missing the target.

"Too slow..." Shiori chuckled. "Get physical."

Masaki charged forward and sliced the air in half. "How can't I follow you...?" He looked back as Shiori's foot dug into his back to throw him out the large window.

"Gotcha!... Kankuro, open Lord Raikage's door now. Hurry." She whispered before hopping out the window and latching onto the side of the silver tower with both feet using chakra. "Still waiting to be touched by you."

"Your words are dirty..." Masaki dropped the scythe on her from behind, missing once again and catching himself on the wall. "Interesting. Looks like I am finished analyzing your jutsu..."

"So? You think you know what's happening then c'mon and hit me."

"If you wish for such a thing than so be it. Prepare for your life to be cut short." Masaki vanished completely, leaving behind those words.

"What the... Where in the hell did you go? Get out here..." Shiori spun in a circle searching for the man. Standing on the wall started to make her dizzy, slowing her reaction time. "Gack..." Nausea began to envelope her then sight blurred away. "I...can't see? Wh-Where did my vision go?"

"Everything will turn to black. Your five senses will numb. Death will take you." Masaki's voice slowly lowered in volume while it spoke. "Heh... It doesn't matter what jutsu you use when you can't escape my Genjutsu. Tsukuyomi: Endless Hell."

Shiori could no longer hear, smell, or taste anything. At least not while in the real world; in the Tsukuyomi realm, every sense besides sight and feel was negated. Her body was being ripped apart over and over again endlessly while amplifying the nerves to multiply the pain by ten times the original. Perhaps most terrifying is the genjutsu's effect on the brain, causing it to release a hormone that controls hostility, meaning it felt as if there was someone about to harm her and she couldn't even move to see the target. Being scared to death without any way to stop it.

Masaki planted both feet on the wall and approached Shiori's seemingly lifeless body. "Your ninjutsu only caused me to slow down whenever I neared you. A useful ability to add to my skill set." He wrapped his hand around her neck and threw her off the side of the silver tower. "Thank you."

Tsunade was laid up in a soft bed with pure white sheets; watched by three knights twenty-four seven. A curtain circling the bed was used to give her a hint of privacy. The room itself was large compared to the small hospital area and it too had a big window that a human could easily fit through. The injuries from the meteors caused an everlasting effect on her chakra network and the wounds were still not yet healed. The only reason she was kept was her immense medical prowess that would provide a huge advantage against the ninja.

Even with all the free time, she still couldn't stop worrying for the people of Konoha. Most of the blame was shouldered by her because it was the responsibility of the Hokage to protect Konohagakure. It was tough for Tsunade to hold in the painful guilt that filled her up on the inside.

A clank noise interrupted her slowly closing eyes. Footsteps closed in on the curtain around the bed then stopped. A hand scrunched together the white silk and yanked it open. The darkness made it almost impossible to see who it was. Tsunade took initiative to say, "Yes?"

A response to the question showed itself in that instant. Two red circles revealed themselves to her; eyes. A word followed. "Die." The entire room exploded not a second later. From afar the window clearly gave away a problem; fire lit up the night air.

"Sasuke...Uchiha?" Tsunade asked not who he was but why was he here. She was now across the burning room on both feet.

A soft snickering sound left his lips. "Sorry." Sasuke ripped off the robe he used for cover that had caught fire. "You were just unfortunate enough to fall under my "next to kill" list."

Tsunade's eyes skimmed the room. The bed and curtains were ablaze and spread all around the room. All three guards were in the same state. "J-Just cause I am weakened doesn't mean this will be easy!"

"Heheheh... You stupid bitch. I guess you don't know how much stronger I am than the Hokage. But I will admit that even still this fight would take a hell of a lot outta me." Sasuke reached toward his back to pull the blade from its brown sheath. "But not this time."

"W... Where in the hell is security!?"

"I set a genjutsu trap... Anyone tries to enter their room, izanami instantly activates."

"Izanami!? How could you use that with such ease? That technique—"

"Is supposed to make my eyes lose light? Ch... My Sakkaku Sharingan has allowed me to breach that limit. I can use both ultimate Genjutsu to a certain extent. Izanagi can be used once a day or so and Izanami can be used multiple times if on someone weak minded. Not to mention my new ability..."

"The Sharingan can evolve to such a level... Would you mind telling me what this new ability is?" Tsunade knew her life was over; nothing could save the Hokage anymore.

Sasuke chuckled; his prey finally realized its demise. "It's called Yatagarusu. Another ultimate Genjutsu... What it does is incredible. When activated on whoever I choose within my field of vision, it sets all of us in a Genjutsu that plays out the next minute of what will happen to all of us. Once that time is up it vanishes and returns it back to whatever position we were in a minute ago. Of course no one expects that to happen except me, so I use the confusion to do whatever it is I was doing beforehand. Pretty fuckin' amazing..."

"That's amazing..." Tsunade dropped to her knees. Even if she were to fight back, it would end in a loss. She knew this from the instance she saw his eyes.

Sasuke smirked and readied the Saikyo No Ken. The stance he prepared ended as he charged forward and thrusted the katana forward toward the Hokage. Just for a moment, time slowed down—ceased, giving just enough until that girl arrived with a scream. "STOP IT!"


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Reformation Is Impossible

**AN: Seppuku is...eh, wikipedia it if you don't know.**

The bright moon was far from leaving as the long night continued. Kankuro used Crow's electronically charged replacement arm to fry the electric lock after many trials to see what kept the door in place. Killer Bee stepped out after finally realizing these people didn't want to kill him. The two of them proceeded to retreat using the the strange electronic box or elevator; again with trial and error. They awaited the box to arrive on their floor for nearly two minutes. The humming machine dinged and the doors slid open.

A flash blinded everyone in the area then a loud smack noise followed. Killer Bee was in a fighting stance, pulling back his right arm after contact. "Who're you? Stupid foo."

The shadow against the elevator door slumped over, another shadow charged out of the box and pinned Bee against the wall on the other side of the room. "W-Wait, Bee!" A familiar scratchy voice cried out.

Bee was released from the hold. "Yo. Naruto! Long time." The ninja bumped fists with one another. "How ya been? Makin' friends?"

Ross hopped up off the metal floor and was then knocked back down by Kankuro. "Ow! What in God's name is wrong with you!? You saw what happened between those guys right? We're good guys..."

Ross hopped back onto both feet. Another punch sent him to the floor. Kankuro stood over the former Chunin with a menacing grimace. "Sorry, didn't see what happened. It was accident."

"Uh...heh. Yeah." Ross grumbled.

Naruto stepped toward the window. "Woah... I just got a...strange feeling. Hey guys, can you escape ahead of me?"

Kankuro laughed. "You're joking right? We came all this way to save you and you want us to go ahead? Sorry, that ain't gonna happen." He pulled a red ball from his pouch and tossed it as high as he could into the air outside. A red light enveloped the sky in seconds, covering the entirety of the moon for almost five seconds.

"Ohhh shit!" Killer Bee said in awe. "That was cool."

Naruto turned back towards Kankuro. Another person was now behind him. "Look out!"

"Calm down." The man moved to the middle of the room. He wore a standard flak sand ninja flak jacket with a white mask and veil that covered his entire face with a slot for eyes. "My name is Muhai, the one and only man to safeguard the Suna Rebellion. Please get closer so that we can get outta here. And please leave the questions for after we arrive in the Sand Village." The man looked deep into Kankuro's eyes, who nodded with a wince. "Grab hold."

Without a second wasted in confusion, Naruto rushed toward the ninja until his vision blurred and faded to black. Within seconds, as the light returned, it became clear that they were not in Teito anymore. If only the Number One Knucklehead Ninja could've known what was happening with his "best friend" at this exact moment not a kilometer away.

The loud yell stopped Sasuke; he moved his head toward the doorway. "You broke the Izanami? Of all the people in the world, it had to be you?" The flames and smoke blurred his vision, but the person in his eyes was clear. "Why are you here?"

Tsunade's lungs filled with air as the possibility of not dying set in. Sasuke's attention had found a new target. Unfortunately not one that she would feel content with dying. "Why ARE you here!? Run! Please...Sakura just go!"

"Lady Tsunade...why would I ever leave your side?" Sakura spoke with courage. The flak jacket that clung to the contours of her chest was ripped in many places. Blood fell from cuts on both of her pale white legs. She brushed away the light pink hair that fell into her eyes. "I knew you were here... Sasuke I knew you were here so I escaped from them to see you again."

"Sakura... I heard what you said to Naruto when we last fought. I thought you were going to give up on me?" Sasuke widened his Sharingan eyes. "I can see right through your lie. Deceiving him to keep holding on to me. That's...just like you."

Sakura crouched down, held her legs, and hid her face. "Is it? Sasuke...is it!? You don't know anything about me! I am not the same little girl that you used to know!" She firmly boosted into a run with a kunai in her left hand. "Sasuke...!"

Sasuke awaited until the last moment, then wrapped his hand around around hers and pushed it forward to put it behind her back so they faced each other. "Pathetic." She looked down but his other hand grabbed her chin and pulled it close to his face. "Look at you... Covered in blood, delusional, and...what are you crying now?"

"S-Sasuke..." Sakura closed her teared up eyes and let them fall. "I...I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? Why the h—" Sasuke was interrupted by a sharp pain that grew insanely worse. "Agh..." He figuratively bit his tongue. The Sharingan put itself away as he fell over on Sakura. "Sca...lp...el?"

Sakura struggled to hold him up, deciding to toss him aside. She raised her right hand, it was engulfed in a aura with a sharpened end. "I'm sorry... I held on to you but...but it was for a different reason. I can never let you go in my heart. You are dangerous though...and the people's needs and wants come before my own."

Sasuke stayed motionless on the hard floor. He couldn't move if he wanted to, but he didn't. "You haven't changed..." He tried to pinpoint exactly where he had been hit. "Heh... You shut down almost my entire nervous system and tried my heart. You couldn't do it though, not to me. My life is far too important, so you purposely diverted the blow."

Sakura closed her tear soaked eyes with confidence. "You won't trap me in your genjutsu... Izanami failed because I accepted my mistake and now...now... N-Now Sasuke take me with you!"

What was a surprise to Tsunade did not shock the young Uchiha at all; he replied with a smile. "After...all that bullshit about people's needs being above your own, you do this?" I..I want revenge..." His breath was severely labored. "But...I want to do it alone... Are you...so stupid...to not realize this!?"

"Think about it...Sasuke think of what I have in my arsenal! I am one of the best medical ninjas in existence! From what I did to you; can't you see what I am capable of!?"

"Heh...gack...hehehehe... When you put it that way..." Blood began to fill his mouth. "Maybe...you would be...useful...to me..." Sasuke managed to finish before slumping over; motionless.

Sakura's eyes weighed heavy with tears, the same weight crushed down upon her heart. "SASUKE!" She threw her arms around the lifeless body. "No...NO! Please..." Both hands glimmered with healing energy attempting to resuscitate the body. "I...thought I missed any vital organs... I-I just needed more training... S-Sasuke..."

Sakura's constitution broke apart and whittled away to nothing. Tears stopped streaming because the pain was too much. Such a careless accident ended the flame that burned passionately for the traitor. "Lady Tsunade..." She glanced over at the barely alive body of what seemed to be her master. "I'm s–"

Those words were all that managed to come out before the sword ripped into her neck and dragged down to the middle of her torso. A foot rested down on Sakura's back and was used to yank out the blood covered blade. "Almost Seppuku... Painful isn't it?" Sasuke giggled as the Saikyō No Ken vanished in a volt of electricity. "What a terrible end for the two of you."

Sakura, wrought with horror, laid down upon the body under her. The Genjutsu had lifted completely to reveal not Sasuke, but Tsunade who lie there in a near death state from the wounds afflicted by her own student. Words couldn't even begin to form from her mouth even if she had the ability to speak now.

"Both of you are almost dead... Tsunade, betrayed and killed by her own pupil, who did not even realize what she was doing. The Sakkaku Sharingan is truly the ultimate power... Two annoying people down without me even trying. Ch...but I'm talking to much. Enjoy Hell." Sasuke's body was engulfed in black fire, disappearing from the room.

Tsunade struggled to do anything as Sakura lay dying in her own immobile arms. "It's...okay. We...can get through this together." The room began to crumble around the kunoichi. "Just...breath..." The words began to soften. "Don't die. Listen...listen to my voice... Don't die!" The entire castle wing shattered into hundreds of pieces, crushing down upon all in its path. An explosion ended the deadly experience at last, leaving only a single sound besides the crackling of fire.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Death Everywhere

The trouble had ended for most of the participants, willing or not, in this night for the empire, trouble lingered with the ruined building; an entire chunk of the castle had been taken out once the fire spread to the oil powered systems in the interior walls. And for two of the ninjas sent to rescue Naruto, trouble was far more severe: A life or death situation.

At the bottom of the silver tower, Masaki Uchiha was being held from climbing. The ones unlucky enough to keep this monster from his goal were plagued with almost certain death. Shiori and Rock Lee were going to die.

Masaki grew impatient as he waited for this new opponent to make the first move. "Are you going to fight me or not? Stop stalling!"

Shiori was barely conscious in a daze, resting against the side of the silver tower, put there by none other than her savior. The ninja that stayed back in case of an emergency or sneak attack: Rock Lee. "I am truly surprised by your words," he said with a scoff, "Someone of your calibur should speak properly to his opponents."

"Heh." Masaki blinked his right arm multiple times. "Rock Lee. Specializing in Taijutsu; labored by the adversity of not being able to use and Nin or Gen." A smile lingered on his lips. "I know you can't be stronger than me...at least not without something other than Taijutsu." That final word was all that could be said as Lee slammed his leg into the side of Masaki's face.

"You are talking too much." Lee pulled in hisleg to release his other leg onto the other side of his face. "Maybe this will keep you quiet... If not, then how about this!" He repeated the kicking maneuver again then once more to send his opponent flying.

Masaki dragged himself off the hard ground, blood spilled from his mouth. "Interesting. I...think...I...got...it...mastered." The Sharingan made itself present upon his eyes. "Try it again. Rock. Lee."

Previous experience against Sasuke prevented Lee from charging into this fight without thinking. "So you too have those eyes? I had thought there was only one pair left in this world."

"Your words are wasted on me, COME!" Masaki threw out his arms and made a protective stance with them close to his face and torso.

Lee vanished without a second thought; seconds later attempting to hammer his leg down onto his opponent's head. As the move was stopped with one arm, he spun his leg free and slammed it into Masaki's side. "I will crush you for working with these demons! Guy-sensei will be avenged! I SWEAR IT!"

"Shut up..." Masaki squeezed his arm in to easily shatter the leg placed in his side. Lee grunted in pain, holding in whatever he could manage. "You are worthless without real jutsu and even more so now. I mean look at me, easily breaking your leg when I haven't even tried my hardest yet."

Uncontrollable tears welled up in both of Lee's eyes. The pain couldn't possible get worse than this, he kept repeating it in his head. "D-Damn y-you..." Barely able to speak, those words uttered from his lips. Lee focused all of his force into his other leg for one final kick that pierced Masaki's guard and allowed Lee to shuffle back with the serious injury given to him. Death would soon claim him already if not for the sheer willpower keeping him steady.

"Ouch... That almost broke my jaw. You Goddamn maggot, your last moments of life will be full of pure agony and suffering." Masaki grimaced while holding his jaw to soothe the pain. "I won't even use my jutsu... This will be real." As soon as he felt the pain lesson, both hands were held and both knuckles cracked. "Get ready for hell."

Rock Lee stood up as straight as he could manage. The burning injury under him was nullified using every ounce of anything left in his system. "If...If I die, YOU are coming with me, I swear it on Guy-sensei's grave! I will kill you."

Sasuke jumped from tree to tree away from Teito, the main road was right along side of him yet he felt more comfort keeping to the forest. A small resting inn came into view after many minutes finally past. The Uchiha donned another brown cloak and hat that he grabbed from easily tricked civilians. _There's no way anyone will recognize me in this dump in the middle of nowhere. I need to rest after all the chakra I used up at that castle. Shit...way more than I meant to use.._

Sasuke pushed open the wooden door to the two-story house built on the side of a dirt path leading off the main road that connected the many destinations around the five nations. There were a few tables with four or so people drinking at them. He ignored them immediately and went up to the older woman that looked as if she tended the place.

"Gimme a room."

"Hmm? Oh... Dearie, maybe if you would ask nicer."

"Ch... I am not playing, give me a place to sleep."

"My, my. You catch more ants with sugar dear."

"... P-Please may I have a damn room...?

"That'll be..." The old lady was stopped mid sentence by the small pouch of money placed in her right hand. "Eh...r-room to left as you get upstairs."

"Keep the change." Sasuke quickly walked up the stairs and entered the east room. He slowly shut the door and tore off the cloak and hat. "Phew...hot as hell." Sweat began to form on his forehead as the minutes went by. S_ummer really takes it's toll on us fair skinned avengers... _Sasuke clenched both fists, a strange feeling suddenely permeated his body. _Wha... I feel power? It's in the place of... _He reached behind his head, placing the palm over the Curse Mark's previous location before being removed. _No it's pain...urg... Wait it's both?_

"What's happening...? I remember what Warusuke said... The Curse Mark will continue to plague me with pain, at least after he enraged it... But I don't have it anymore. And what the hell is this other feeling? Damn, I'm about to fall out...unconcious" He fell to the floor while finishing his thoughts aloud. Minutes past by while his sleeping body attempted to fight off an invisible force by flailing on the floor.

The motionless shadows of the room were soon disrupted; the medium sized glass window near the bed shattered into pieces as a new shadow entered the room. "Huh...fell asleep?" The feminine voice moved through the room and ended as a foot was lightly placed onto Sasuke's body. "Look at him... This serial killer resting like a baby. I guess this is easier than I could've imagined. But ending his life like this won't satisfy me." The foot presses down on him until he quickly awoke, gasping for air. "Let me watch you as you die...I want to see the life leaving those damn Sharingan eyes."

"Gck... Your...the one from yesterday...heh...wanting that bounty on my head? Shit...what is it at now?" Sasuke spoke as if he had the advantage in the skirmish.

"That's not why. Sasuke Uchiha, your a sick murderer with no merciful thoughts whatsoever. I would never have come after you if you had just left my family alone." The young woman pushed down harder as seconds past. "You just relentlessly killed my father! My own flesh and blood!"

Sasuke was too jaded to even move a single inch. Even his words were corroding. "Which one...was that? I...heheheh...I've killed so many men."

The woman panicked in rage and slammed her foot down onto his chest with all her might, easily cracking multiple ribs around his right lung. "It was during Jastin's attack around ten months ago. Like he was nothing...you sliced him in half. I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye!"

"Why would...I care...about that?" Sasuke asked while regaining his breath. _This bitch...heh. I guess this where I am gonna die. All this power is unreachable in the state I'm in. All of the fatigue was enough but attacking me while I was suffering unconscious... These broken ribs..._

"My name is Megami Ochita. And now the goal that fills my life is to kill you. Being a ninja of Konoha... I never go back on my word. I will kill you!" She lowered herself to his face with a kunai at the ready. "This is revenge." The blade ripped into his esophagus; blood rushed to the wound and poured out into the outside world. "It's the end of ths road."

Sasuke closed both his eyes to allow death to embrace him. It unfortunately didn't come, but maybe he knew that. Life was something he always clung to until this moment as if he knew he would live. The area where the Curse Mark once was stopped hurting and another sensation filled him. A familiar feeling of power.

Megami got up of his motionless body and slowly moved to the window where she entered. "You were supposed to have a bounty of fifty-seven million Ryo? Pathetic."

During her speech, Sasuke was lifted onto his feet by a dark purple aura that eventually covered the room. Once Megami turned around, it was already too late. She was gutted by the Saiykō No Ken. "H-How... You were...dead."

Two purple eyes pierced the fog and dug into Megami's mind. "Enjoy your hellish respite." The sword was yanked from her stomach with a harsh pull. Footsteps clacked up the stairs to the door outside Sasuke's room and knocked.

"Hello dearie? We have people complaining about a smog coming from this room. Hello!?"

The door creaked open, Sasuke was standing there in an empty room with a somewhat forced smirk. "I was trying to sleep."

"Oh my..." The owner panicked. "I am so sorry." The old lady apologized while rushing down the stairs.

As Sasuke shut the door, Megami's body and a lighter smoke reappeared in an instant. "Genjutsu is powerful." The throat wound was no longer there and a new mark was located on the the lower part of the back of his neck. A black-purple cross with a hook on each end. "This new transformation is even more powerful. Too powerful."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Allies Inside Enemies

At last it was morning. The desert birds tweeted away, few in number as they were. The weather was very calming this day and would be for the next week. The Kazekage awoke early to finish up any leftover documents he was forced to sign. The office was silent like a night in the plains to the northwest. Work consumed the Kazekage ever since he had been named more than three years ago. His mind quickly wandered to the safety of his brother, Kankuro, as well as Naruto and the others sent on the mission.

In a coincidence, the room was filled with a small submergence sound. Muhai warped into the room with multiple allies in tow. The sight of Naruto triggered a small smile upon Gaara's mouth. The man that saved him was alive and well. A young man with enough power to crush the empire to bits and pieces. "Naruto Uzumaki," He uttered while standing out of his chair, "you are safe now."

The reply was exactly what Gaara expected, a white teethed grin and a nod. "Yeah!"

"I guess we should fill you in on what happened during your absence?" Gaara placed both hands on the scattered papers covering his desk.

"I think I got the gist of it. But all I really want to know is what happened to Konoha." The smile dissipated and was replaced with a neutral look filled with curiousity.

"The enemy that caused this was known by the name: Warusuke. A Sound ninja operating under the now deceased Orochimaru. Sasuke attempted to put an end to this man in Konoha's last moments...obviously failing in the process."

"Is he okay!?"

"During the battle, we got word of the attack and headed down here at top speed. Unfortunately, once we arrived the enormous meteor was minutes from impact. I made my way toward the collision point and raised Shukaku's Sand Shield. Despite the sheer force of such an enormous thing...I managed to stop most of the inner most impact, sparing many lives. This included both Sasuke and Warusuke."

"What happened next?"

"I found as many survivors as possible and led them to my caravan. We slowly returned to Sunagakure without me knowing of the hidden location near the remains of the Hokage Stone Faces. Sasuke was left outside the village...and Warusuke divulged informatiom to us, free of will."

"W-What kind of info exactly?"

"Warusuke was created using the genes and DNA particles of many of the most powerful ninjas ever to live with the technology given to the Sound by Jastin...or perhaps stolen from Jastin's base of operation. And that this new Akatsuki seemed to be wiped out down to the last person, besides two survivors. I am not sure how much is believable..."

"W-Wait! Two survivors? Uh... Can you fill me in on that?"

"According to spies...and one of thw member themselves, a red haired ninja named Zakiasu Takahashi, who was the strongest of the organization, is still alive somewhere in these nations. The other goes by Eisei-hei...she was nearly killed by another in her ranks. And perhaps more important to us, she sealed away all nine of the Nine Tailed Beasts into a single scroll."

"Then does she know where that scroll is!? I have to get back Kurama!"

"Actually Lord Raikage said it was confiscated during his capture. That would mean it was in the hands of the empire now..."

Ross rudely disrupted the conversation between the two high level ninja with two steps forward. "We have to sneak in to the castle to get it! I have a connection on the inside– With the princess! Naruto needs Kurama and we to get the scroll away from those fiends!"

Gaara nodded in agreement. "Indeed. A team to infiltrate Teito Castle and retrieve the scroll in whatever disclosed location it would be in would prove useful. But first..." His feet carried him to Muhai. "The backup force isn't here?"

The Sand ninja closed his eyes. "Unfortunately Lee and Shiori had to stay back and keep 'him' off of us."

"I see... Very well. We must rely on our inside forces to handle the situation. I fear we are going to be attacked within the coming days so our forces must remain."

Sparking his curiousity, Naruto interrupted the ninja. "Inside forces?"

"Yes. For the sake of a possible spy, names will not be mentioned. Rest assured that the Sealed Scroll will be in our hands soon."

The air distorted as Muhai vanished with the words, "I will bring us the scroll by midnight."

The early morning sun burned down on the soldiers digging through the rubble of the bed chambers and medical area. Cleaning proved to be a major hassle as no one knew what to do with the metal. Masaki made his way to the king's chamber to report what happened through the night.

Jakob lazily sat upon the golden throne comforted with the softest cushions. The elite generals were nowhere in sat as Masaki stopped across the king. "I have news as to what happened."

The Uchiha's ignorance to not bow angered Jakob quite a bit, but he kept his mouth shut. "What of it? We have security cameras stationed all over this castle."

"That may be...but I have info on what happened with the Hokage that I thought you might want to know. My cognitive abilities saw through the illusions placed within that room." A light smile of superiority graced his lips.

"And...?"

"It was Sasuke Uchiha."

An aggravated expression masked Jakob's face. "He made it into this castle? Who the hell does he think he is!?"

Masaki took in a deep breath. "Doesn't matter now. I have other news that you might want to know." He tapped his right temple. "Multiple ninja have left their duties without permission and cannot be found."

"Damn, I knew we shouldn't have recruited ninja that resisted brainwashing! Who are they!?"

"Heheh. I'm not that good but I think I have a pretty good idea from the chakra reading. This is all so entertaining..."

"Fool! Tell me of those who escaped!"

"If my scanner is right...and my Sharingan amplification isn't haywire...then the ones you are looking for are named..."

Light engulfed Sakura's eyes as she opened them up to the world. In the hospital located south of Teito Castle, she lie completely naked. Machines were attached to her right arm and bandages clung to her stomach and legs. A blanket covered the bareness of her body from the world. The room made everything inaudible outside of itself with whatever special materials it was made from.

The empire should know better than to keep a ninja with her strength in a protected room. It would be a cinch to blast out of there if she was in any condition to.

The foggy memories of last night clouded her memory in a single instant. "Sasuke!" Accidently spouted from her lips. She moved to cover them in embarrasment only to feel a horrible pain wash over.

The collapse of the castle severely injured the kunoichi. Adding that onto the pain from escaping the holding area the king held her in, she was in no condition to move. Both eyes zoomed around the room to examine the white room with only a camera in the upper right corner. "What's...happened?"

The white door that blended with the room exploded open and two people stepped in. The empire was nice enough to make both of them female, in order to make the environment more comfortable.

The intruders both wore the light weight imperial armor, one with silver, the other with a prominent gold. The king's daughter Serah and Ino Yamanaka, the mind manipulater that the empire valued.

"Sakura Haruno... You need to answer a few of our questions," Ino blurted out.

The expression on Sakura's face was filled with confusion as she pulled the bed sheets while sitting up to cover her chest. "Why? I...don't know anything."

Serah giggled, seemingly to get Sakura's attention, which managed to be successful. After a cute wink, she left the room. This only forced the kunoichi into a deeper state of confusion. "Wha–"

Ino clasped her friend's mouth shut with one hand. "I didn't speak to you..." the volume then lowered, "we are getting you out of here."

Serah returned after a couple minutes with a stern nod. "Cameras are deactivated. Please come quickly."

Ino and Serah rushed out the door at a comfortable pace only to return after a multitude of seconds. The blonde kunoichi sighed, "oh yeah, you need clothes don't you?"

A ticked off face answered her question. "What do you think?"

"No time." Serah butted in. "Wrap the blanket around yourself and hurry. The cameras will only stay out for so long."

Sakura hesitantly wrapped herself in the blanket so that it was similar to an extra long dress and the three young women scurried into the empty halls and down the stairs to the reception desk. The receptionist would normally question the strange occurence but because the princess was with them, she kept quiet.

Serah led them into a tunnel through a hidden hatch behind the bribed receptionist at the desk. The inside was pitch black. Being able to see would require the eyes of a feline. The king's daughter took the lead, walking forward three steps before smacking her face into a steel wall.

Sakura snickered as her mind forgot the situation they were in before it all returned. "What's happening? Where... Sasuke..." She delved into het mind.

A light flickered above them; the entire path then lit up with bright lights. Serah held her face to ease the slight pain coursing through it. "These tunnels run below this entire city and are to be used as hideaways in case somethin' were to happen. Eh...you probably don't care about that though. What matters is we are getting you out of the city and into Sunagakure."

A relieved sliver of a smile graced her face but was replaced with a frown in moments. "W...what about... Where is Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked as she collapsed onto the floor.

"Shit! Ino what's wrong with her!?" Serah huddled to the fallen ninja's side.

The small bits of medical training Ino received clamored her mind. She slowly flipped over the body, being careful not to enrage any wounds. Delicately, she unwrapped the wet blood stained sheet. The red liquid covered the middle of Sakura's legs and down. "Dammit. We should have taken more precautions! Looks like nearly every wound she recieved on her lower body has opened up. I am almost sure it can be halted, give me time."

"I don't know if we have to much of that... Fuck, it's all my fault!" A direct self affliction was Serah's first reaction. "Sakura...I'm sorry."

Hearing her name, she jumped back into consciousness. "Ino... I...I'll be..." Sakura began to get up, being fully nude was the last thing on her mind. "I'll be fine. Please..."

"Uh... Yeah. Okay." Ino sighed at the cuts that stopped bleeding from the slight medical attention they received. "But you can't put too much weight on your legs. Don't push yourself. Not only are you strong, you're my friend... Billboard Brow.

As touching a moment it was, Serah was driven to break it up. "Someone's coming!" The whisper was slighty louder than it should have been, leading the quiet footsteps to grow louder with speed. They were trapped.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.1:

Battle Of Sunagakure(Part 1):

The Shinigami Rampages

The morning was oddly quiet. The Kazekage had taken extreme measure to protect his village with knowledge of a coming attack. Everyone was inside of their houses; only a few foolish people still moved out and about. With the council's approval, Gaara was able to place soldiers around Sunagakure. Most of the ninja were taken off missions to stay hidden inside the village to ambush. The information of battle was leaked directly from the attack force themselves, but it wasn't yet known how the attack would start until...

A single man eventually stepped into Gaara's eyes from a long distance down the desert. The Kazekage held his fist to signify holding long range arrow fire. This strange person was not yet described to be an enemy. Suna waited nearly ten minutes for the stranger to arrive close to the gate. The sand picked up quite a bit over that time, making it hard to see.

The village gate was barely cracked to allow one person through. A Sand ninja met the man at the entrance, "What is your business?" He asked.

"I...I just needed to trade with a merchant in this village." The man held the brown cloak that shielded the sand, tightly. "W-Why is Sunagakure so protected?"

"I am going to need some identification." The ninja held out his right hand in expectation.

"Of...of course." The stranger glanced out of the cloak. "It seems I lost it."

"Y...you...can...pass." The Sand ninja moved out of the way in a strange way, as if under a trance.

This man walked a few feet into Sunagakure before ripping off his veil to reveal Masaki Uchiha. His black armor gleamed under the hot sun. The scythe attached to his back was taken off and spun with enthusiasm. "GAARA! COME ON OUT!" Those words echoed across the empty streets.

A response manifested itself physically with two ninja heeding his call: Temari and Kankuro. The older of them spoke first. "There is no way you take our village without the fight of your life. A singles man is nothing in the face of the Kazekage's siblings!"

"A single man? Heheheh. Bitch, I can take out this entire Goddamn village if I was allowed too!... Unfortunately I am not allowed too. Besides, killing innocent people isn't really my thing. The soldiers will occupy this place once I call them." Masaki raised his finger up towards his right temple. "Can I fight yet?"

Both ninja were caught off guard by the question. "What? I don't fuckin' know!" Kankuro yelled while pulling a small scroll from his weapons pouch.

The question was clearly directed to another hidden ally of the enemy. "You guys are in for a major surprise. Normally I would fight alone but..." Masaki snickered as a blue spherical beam shot down from the sky, landing just outside the gate. "The others won't allow it."

Temari angled herself to see out the barely open gate. "How is that possible!?" She exclaimed.

The soldiers upon the walls began to panic once they caught sight of what the beam left behind. Nearly one-hundred imperial soldiers, all in formation. A woman in the middle of the group yelled out something inaudible to Gaara. Each soldier held out a small circular object that opened up into a human sized shield. The ninja awaited the enemy's next move while they were blinded from the sand and shields. A single soldier stepped out from the barricade with a strange blue blinking orb and threw it with all his might.

The ball landed up on the wall near the Kazekage. One of the guards picked it up after examining it with his eyes. "It...it doesn't seem to be anything! Huh? Wait...the tha little light stopped blinking!"

Gaara's eyes widened as he realized what it was. "THROW IT BACK!" His voice strained during the scream.

The guard shrugged and arched it back. A slim blue light fell from the sky and connected with the ball. The guard threw it forward as the orb ruptured in his hands and a sky blue light swallowed up everything within nearly a kilometer in a circular shape.

A faint heart beat rang in Gaara's ears during the instant consciousness returned to him. His outfit was ripped apart in several places and his gourd was gone. Everything was black. His limbs felt faint as he lifted them up, pushing away the pressure on his body. Light burst into his eyes once he moved his arms. The rubble was no longer covering his body. "This...can't...be..."

All around him were ninja fighting against the soldiers from before. Dead bodies littered the ground, both young and old; ninja and civilian. Any type of structure was now rubble all around him. Nearly a fourth of Sunagakure was gone.

"Hiding...wasn't enough?" Gaara muttered to himself. "Our...forces were...ripped through."

Masaki swung his scythe horizontally, barely missing Temari and Kankuro. "Dodged with ease. Nice." He complemented while repeating another strike that was avoided again.

"What did you do to us!?" Temari shouted over the sounds of blades clinging. She yanked a large rod of the sash wrapped around her waist. It slid open into a beautifully designed fan. "You are all monsters!"

"The Technology under our control is far more advanced than the crap anyone else has! We are using to our advantage." Red filled Masaki's eyes as the Sharingan showed itself. "I can promise that death will come quick...to one of you."

Kankuro shuffled through the pouch on his buttox. "Alright. I've had this baby for awhile... You'll be the first to experience it!" A mischievous smile angled itself. "My ultimate puppet!" He tossed a small scroll into the air and a cloud of smoke took its place. Blue thin lines of Chakra connected each of his fingers with whatever hid in the smoke.

"Too dramatic. This'll be over in a flash!" The Shinigami screamed.

"Hell gave birth to it, come forth Karakuri!" Kankuro pulled downwards, forcing the cloud disperse as the new puppet raised its four arms. It was designed similar to Crow with many exceptions, such as the Black Ant style body hidden under the rags, an eagle shaped face, and much deadlier hidden weapons. "Let's eat him alive!"

"How will a doll put an end to me? I am invincible." Masaki spun the scythe around several times. "Make this enjoyable!"

Kankuro yanked down on the chakra threads while moving multiple fingers. Karakuri clicked and clacked around until it rushed at the opponent. The beak fell open and multitude of poison smoke bombs shot out, landing all around Masaki's feet. He grunted as each of them exploded into a large cloud. Karakuri continued into the smoke to attack the blind enemy in his confusion. The sound of metal clashing rang out many times before the lesser sandstorm wiped away the poison.

Masaki grimaced, for the puppet's lower right arm stabbed deep into an opening in the left side of his armor. "Bitch... Poison tipped blades on each arm? Such dirty tricks." His eyes gleamed, almost calling out Kankuro's attention as the puppet master looked directly into them. "I can play dirty t—"

A wave of slicing wind threw Masaki flying back into a group of fighting ninja and soldiers. He pulled himself up using the scythe while each of the people around began to fall unconscious. Temari wielded her fan tightly, sweat dripped from her brow. "What the hell happened to those people!?"

"All of you will be eaten alive...by my genjutsu." Blood bled from both of Masaki's eyes. "Been awhile since...AMATERATSU!" He shouted out loud into the atmosphere, staring directly at Kankuro.

A strange feeling filled the air, almost preventing the puppet master from moving. Temari slammed into his side with all her might as black flames appeared out of nowhere, burning the sash she used as a sheath for the fan. It was taken off and tossed at the dirt, fire burning it away. "So you really are...an Uchiha? Incredible." Her words of praise made Masaki chuckle.

"You give me to much credit. Even if I could take out this entire village... It is nothing, really." Masaki watched the sash burn into nothing. "I wish you didn't do that. The version of Amateratsu I used was much stronger than usual. Watching him melt would've been fun."

"Damn you!" Temari zipped forward at Masaki, despite Kankuro's plead to stay. "Die you sonuvabitch!" She slammed the closed fan down onto Masaki's scythe.

"You don't get what I am capable of do you?" The Shinigami gripped the scythe tight, then pulled it down along with Temari and dug his knee into her face, forcing her to fall back. He reached out and pulled her back toward him and exploded his fist into her cheek. "This is nothing to me. NOTHING!" Masaki had dropped the scythe and punched into her side and finished with a final fist to her face, throwing her flying back into the waiting Kankuro, who grabbed hold of her.

"Te-Temari! Sister..." Kankuro kept hold of her unconscious body. "Goddamn it." He slowly put her on the sand. "What the fuck are you doing all this shit to us for!? Why?"

"To create a better world." Masaki smirked. "Jastin had the right idea; to get rid of ninjas. But a flaw was still sitting on the plan. Without ninja, there would be no protection. The Knight Order IS that protection! Don't you understand it!? This village needs to be stopped for the greater world pe—"

"Shut up." A slow voice startled the two from behind Masaki. "You...don't understand. Is this really the right way? You have...killed...innocent civilians. Children! Don't speak about us not understanding. You are the blind one!" Gaara limped forward and pointed down Masaki.

"Kazekage. Hehehe...if I kill you...will the battle end?" Masaki's scythe went to his hand and he charged forward.

"No! Gaara move!" Kankuro screamed out.

A blinding light blocked out the vision of each of them. Two different metals brushed off each other and Masaki retreated back. The light gave away after moments and two ninja blocked Masaki's path. One of them clad in imperial silver armor. "Two new combatants?" He giggled with excitement.

Ross stood there, a new gray jacket replacing the white. The other wore a helmet but it was the female armor model that the person was equipped with. "Lord Kazekage, may I request permission to move you?" He glanced back at Gaara as the young man dropped unconscious. The knight carefully caressed him. "Kanari, please take him to the mansion. And uh...lose the outfit, you look like a bad guy."

"That's cuz technically I am a 'bad guy'." Kanari giggled as she shedded the armor with the click of a button on the inside of the chest. "I promise to get him there safe."

"I trust you to. We just hafta hold out until Muhai returns. That guy could wipe the floor with Elite General Shinigami," Ross stated on purpose to aggravate his opponent. Kanari smiled and jumped off toward the Kazekage's mansion, avoiding any combat.

Masaki gritted his teeth while spinning the scythe once again. "I wonder how good you are..." He tapped his right temple with his pointer finger. "The reading is fuzzy. 'Ross. Age: 17. This ninja...'" He began mumbling to himself. "Ohoho? Seems you can use all five elements? That's special. Too bad there isn't much else in your profile. You must be a faceless nobody."

"I can at least handle y—" Ross cringed suddenly. "I can do this without any help. This will be over before it even begins!"

**Did you hear what he said**? **If this man doesn't die now... Answer me! I will make this quick So...LET ME OUT**!


	12. Chapter 10(2)

Chapter 10.2:

Sealed Scroll And A Hidden Truce

**AN: So... I'm pretty socially distant from my readers for some reason aren't I? I even write all grammatically fancy like so...I mean I don't talk like this. Who talks like this? But that's probably how it should be. I don't wanna drive you peeps away with personality. Anyway, if it wasn't obvious, this takes place during chapter 10.1.**

Sakura burst out a screech that echoed throughout the two way hall. The yelp itself scared Serah and Ino far more than the uncalled visitors. "Y-You didn't see anything did you!?" Sakura screeched while pulling the slightly blood stained sheet over herself.

The familiar air was a relief to the worried women. The one before them was none other than Shikamaru Nara. His black hair was tied up in a sort of ponytail as usual, a stubble had begun growing around his chin, and his clothing was replaced by a lightly armored brown leather outfit. "You should probably ask if I didn't see anything because these damn bright lights made everything pretty visible. How did you guys not s—" Shikamaru was interrupted by a clear white fist to the jaw that prevented him from saying anymore.

"You were going kinda fast and the silver armor IS a sign of the Order." Serah stepped forward to speak while Ino giggled in the background from Sakura's exchange with the Nara clan.

"Mab bat hurp bike helb..." Shikamaru pouted on the floor, correcting his facial structure after the devastating blow to the jaw.

"So...why are you in the tunnels? They are for emergencies only, you slow bum." Serah revised the last statement and spoke again. "You slow bitch."

Shikamaru angled his eyebrows to show confusion while smacking his lips to see if he could let out words. He cradled his jaw then let go and began to speak. "And...who are you?"

"How the hell do you not know who I am!? Serah my name is SERAH, ringing any bells?"

"Hmm... Oh! You the soldier that got the hell beat out of 'em by that one guy at that place like many times ago?"

"I...hate you. YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHO THE FUCK I AM YOU SHIT FACED BITCH!" Serah screamed aloud.

"Wow. The princess is like how my soldiers described. A whiny brat." A small smile appeared upon his stubbled face. "We should hurry and get out of here now."

Ino helped Sakura up to her feet. "Mmm... Shikamaru, I'd hate to ask you this but in this situation...would you carry Sakura?"

"The hell!?" Both ninja spurted out in surprise. A long passes by and Shikamaru held her in front of him with a scowl on his face as if to say "What a drag".

Ino clapped her hands together and giggled. "You're so sweet Shika—oh! That's right, I forgot to ask, What's up with that?" What she was referring to was a large bag on his back.

"Oh...that? Heheh, open it up and see." Shikamaru struggled to speak while carrying Sakura, secretly wondering if she had gotten fat.

Ino jogged behind him and pulled on the zipper encircling the top of the bag until it was open. Both hands were required to yank out the large item, which surprised her. "This is a giant...scroll?"

Serah suddenly pushed Ino out of the way while grabbing hold of the item. "This is the Sage's Scroll! More importantly, THIS is the scroll with every Tailed Beast sealed inside it! H-How did YOU get your hands on it?"

"That's a really stupid question. I hate to brag but I am pretty damn smart. It wasn't hard to feign my loyalty over the time I've been the strategist, especialy toward the low ranking soldiers. When they transfered the scroll to it's chosen hideaway, I just took it off their hands and swapped it with a fake out of camera range." Shikamaru pulled it away from the princess and slipped it back into the sash wrapped around him. "I escaped like you asked except with this in tow. Now we are an extra step ahead."

"That's great! All we have to do is continue along these paths and we'll end up just outside the city walls! We should hurry!" Serah happily signalled the group to follow with her right hand to which they immediately did.

"So You guys planned on rescuing Sakura but not Lady Tsunade? And what about the other Konoha ninja?" Shikamaru asked while clinging to the back of the formation.

Sakura ignored his questionably stinky breath because she had just been reminded to ask, "Where is Lady Tsunade?" She turned her attention to Ino, who looked away with a flustered expression.

"Sasuke Uchiha got you pretty bad...if you remember correctly." Serah spoke up after a short silence. "Like life threateningly bad. Of course the empire couldn't afford to lose such a talented medical ninja...but if they had used machines, it could have really fucked up your chakra network. So once they got you both to the hospital, they only could wait it out because of the lack of medical ninja. But... I'm jumping ahead a little uh..."

"Lasy Tsunade died," Ino blurted out before Serah could drag out anything else. "She gave you all of her power to heal you up and keep you alive. There are no longer any living Sannin remaining."

Sakura's bright green eyes lost their color. "Huh?" She subconsciously replied.

"Let's just go. We are wasting time! The Sand Village is in danger!" Shikamaru shouted to crack open the tension. "We could be found out!"

The group grew awkwardly quiet again as they began to move forward behind Serah. Sakura laid silently in Shikamaru's arms, her emotional status was completely hidden to him.

Deep within the metal insides of Teito castle was a laboratory. Although funny enough, no one in the castle knew of it's existence besides Jakob. Behind the golden throne deep inside the wall hid Kabuto Yakushi and the center of the Sound Village. A truce had been formed on the day of Orochimaru's death between Oto and Teito. The truce was but temporary; they were not allies, only docile around one another.

"I think...you are finally healthy enough to fight again," Kabuto, shrouded in a black robe, whispered to a barely conscious girl within a liquid filled tube. The tube was filled with machines that connected to the girl's body and made a beep noise every couple seconds. "It's amazing—the technology here is more advanced than I could have imagined. I am surprised Orochimaru—I mean Lord Orochimaru did not grab more than the machines capable of creating Warusuke."

A young man with spiked black hair and light gray skin stepped up behind Kabuto. "Please don't speak about me in the third person while I am behind you."

"Sorry. I thought you were resting." Kabuto turned around while skimming the rooms machine filled insides with the black slits that were now his eyes. The lights of a few computers on the wall gleamed on his gray face.

"What...did you do to yourself?" Warusuke made a face of disgust as he stared at the face of what seemed to be a fusion of Orochimaru and his right hand man. "You've turned yourself into a monster?"

"Heheheh... I have replaced multiple of my own organs with his...and grafted his skin into mine!" A twisted expression masked Kabuto. "Unlike before...I have become one with Orochimaru! A more perfect...Orochimaru."

"Haha! You are crazy! I wonder how much of my DNA is made from yours? I wonder if you mind can handle Orochimaru?" Warusuke snickered aloud. "Anyway...how is Terra doing? Are her injuries healed?"

Kabuto cleared his throat with a small cough. "It seems so. This water has rejuvenated her completely...or maybe the machines. You two will be the front of the Sound ninja force."

"I wouldn't dream of helping you out...is what I would say if Lord Orochimaru wasn't a part of you." Warusuke began to leave the main room but stopped just before a foot left. "Watch yourself. The mind in your head might not survive if you don't" The words lingered in the room long after Kabuto became alone again.

_What? Why in the hell did he say that? _Kabuto stared intently at Terra's body, yet he seemed to look past it as his mind wandered. _I can watch myself fine. Unless that's not what he was referring to... _"What did he mean?" His tone sounded unvoluntarily much more sly than usual. "My...voice? This isn't...my voice. What's happening to me!? Gah...Grh..." The gray of the transplanted skin began to mutate rapidly. "Sunova—" Kabuto stabbed a syringe into his arm and pushed down on the plunge. "Just what have I done to myself...?"

Orochimaru's voice echoed within Kabuto's head. _You don't yet realize what has happened. This body will become mine. Do not supress it... Let yourself fall into darkness._


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

Battle Of Sunagakure(Part 2):

Monsters

The ninja of the sand fought back with all their might against the invading soldiers, but it seemed as if luck refused to help them out. One after another, the invaders took the lives of the ninja. Superior equipment beat out superior skill. Kunai was no match for Ganburēdo.

A sand ninja quickly mashed together a jutsu with his hands as he yelled, "Wind style: Wind Blade!" The wind picked up around him, releasing a horizontal green wind sword into the opponent. A loud clang noise did nothing to grab the attention of the surrounding fights.

The soldier leaned forward as if in pain for more than a second before pulling a sword of his back and pointing at the ninja. "Stupid ninja. These armors fully negate any chakra related attacks! Die!" His finger moved to the trigger attached to the hilt during the weapons aim adjustment to see to it that the barrel of the gun atop aligned with the ninja. A projectile pierced through the Sand soldier, sending him to the ground, dead. "Too ea—"

Masaki Uchiha was thrown into the soldier at an incredible speed, snapping his neck on impact and breaking the Shinigami's landing. "Thanks." He sarcastically spoke to the dead soldier as his eyes fixated upon the beast that had thrown him. "I just wish this guy was the one that was dead."

The dark purple chakra of the Zerobi singed into the earth as it returned to its default position of standing bent over with its arms toward the ground, its long ears pointed backwards and bent doen as well. "**Come now... Am I truly greater than the almighty Masaki Uchiha!?" **Ross chuckled loudly, although the one in control of him was no such person. The Zerobi had snatched control at the first sign of hesitation.

"Oh hell. I guess I'm going to lose to Jastin's creation. Ha! Like that'd ever happen! I am the strongest living thing on this entire goddamn ball!" Masaki shouted at his enemy, then slowly pulled himself onto both legs. "This is gonna be pretty fun though...I can tell."

**"Let's hope so. It is going to be your last battle." **Yamikage's distorted voice forced many other ongoing battles around it to halt. **"An audience? I don't like to show off."**

Masaki's hand drew a shadow as it outstretched to call the grounded scythe. "I love to..." He called upon the Sharingan with a blink. "Ama...teratsu!" Black fire ripped open the ground, making its way toward the monstrous Zerobi.

A devilish roar met the fire halfway and stopped it in its tracks. **"Is this all?" **Yamikage glared at its opponent. **"Maybe I should start..." **The beast vanished in a purple afterimage.

"My Sharingan can't keep up!?" Masaki growled in surprise as a chakra cloaked purple hand exploded out from under the sand behind him and enclosed his body. "Gahahaha! I am fighting a monster!" He flexed his arms and pushed out of the entrapment. "Let's have some real f—"

A second hand slammed into Masaki's side and continued stretching until impacting into the side of a house and destroying it. The flying rubbles made perfect steps for him as he hopped onto a multitude of them to escape another oncoming hand. Hundreds of meters back the Zerobi stood with a demented yellow smile on its face. **"It has been too long since I have been able to battle. This will be an experience to remember...huh?"**

Without realizing it, the Zerobi had been surrounded by all of the surviving soldiers that had slaughtered nearly every Sand ninja with the exception of the odd few escapees. One of them began to speak. "W-What the hell are you!?" He held the beast at gunpoint along with the others. "Answer us or die!"

**"How fun..." **Yamikage sneered, calling forth a giant black orb to engulf him and the soldiers. **"I'm going to call this one..." **Ignoring the knights, they began to fire the semi-automatic blade-guns. Each bullet disintegrated without managing to scrape the air. **"Gravitational Rasengan." **The orb imploded, pulling each soldier into the Zerobi. A flash filled the air and the beast was alone with a small crater under its feet.

Masaki scratched the black hair while steadily making his way back to the Zerobi awaiting. "Damn... This black armor is hot as hell... Woah!" His eyes met the creature and skimmed the crater around it. "You killed every one of those soldiers!? Good God, how many are still alive?"

**"Shut up. Fight me now." **Yamikage placed each clawed foot into the ground. Without another word, Masaki held his scythe at the neck of the beast. He slashed the neck apart, ripping the head from its pedastal. The body feel to its knees and was kicked backwards by Masaki before falling against the sand.

"That was too easy. But...I suppose you are technically just a Seventeen year old kid." Masaki dropped the scythe blade into the motionless body. "Sorry...just had to make sure you were dead."

**"How sweet." **A second Zerobi squeezed its hand around Masaki's skull. **"Die quick for me. I've grown tired." **A scream filled the air as the grown man's skull was crushed in. Fresh blood poured from the openings along with multiple pieces of grayish pink brain matter. **"Urrrg... It seems this body cannot hold out any longer. Hehehe, it was fun." **Yamikage easily tossed the body to the ground. The chakra receded into Ross, far into the depths of the diamond seal on his stomach.

The entire world around Ross distorted from the illusion it was in as the young man fell unconcious. Masaki picked himself off the ground, seemingly fully recovered, yet he hadn't even been hurt in the first place. "Shit, I wanted to beat up that creature more. Ah well. I guess I should fall back now that most of the regiment is dead. Even the commander bitch is gone, huh?" He started to mumble to himself while walking out of the village.

The giant wound attached to Sunagakure would prove much more than trivial to fix. Each building within the blast radius were reduced to such little rubble, putting it back together would be impossible. Far from the entrance to the village, Gaara lied next to the Kazekage's Mansion by request, looking straight down the main road that led all the way to the gate.

"I...hate to ask this. No, more like I hope I don't regret this." Gaara murmured to Kankuro standing over him. "Attack him..." Without hesitation his brother was gone. He inched his head to the right, catching a glimpse of his unconscious sister. "Temari...please forgive me if I truly sent my own brother his death."

Kankuro stood upon the roof of the last building still put together before the deep empty space laid out in front of him. "You...FUCKING MONSTER!"

As Masaki turned to see the source of the yell, Karakuri swung it's hidden blade arm across his face. A straight line of blood sprayed onto the floor from the cut under his eye. "This damn bird faced puppet again!?" He swiped the scythe into its side to hear loud clank sound. "Wha? What is it impenetrable?"

Kankuro flexed his finger while snickering, still resting on the roof. "Karakuri's body is made from millions of Ryo worth of adamantium. It's the ultimate puppet."

"Oh ho! Tight defenses!" Masaki spun the other way and released his scythe. It flung through the sky at an incredible velocity, digging horizontally into Kankuro's torso before he even realized it. "How do you like that? Pretty good aim right?"

"How...did he see me? The...sand...storm..." Kankuro began to choke on the blood filling his mouth. "It's...deep...gack...too deep..." He reached for the pole to pull it out, shaking violently. "Fuck... F-FUCK!"

The puppet grew limp, falling into the sand as the chakra strings retracted. Masaki began to laugh while staring into the blinding sand, the vague Kankuro dropped of the building and out of sight. "It's over now! Get it? I hope the last words you hear are the ones coming from my mouth right now!"

The shadow of a person began walking toward the Uchiha without any signs of injury. "Woah? Still up? Damn, then gimme my scythe back!" Masaki yelled into the sand expecting his weapon to be given back.

Not another second past before his scythe was flung to his hand. A surprised expression surprisingly darkened the mood "Son of a fucking bitch, quite an arm you got there. I know you aren't the puppeteer," Masaki stated. He was suddenely being pushed forward, catching and positioning himself to face whatever caused it. "Who're you?"

The man held both hands at each side, armored with a Sand flak jacket and a white wrap as a full face helmet. "Technically Muhai. It means 'undefeated' in some ancient language."

"How did you get from..." Masaki looked behind him, then back at Muhai. "Fast one. Good news is that I will never get sick of this! Fighting is my life!"

"Shut it. I will put an end to you. Death is a subject I am familiar with..." Muhai's deep eyes shone a hellish red. "Now you need to familiarize yourself with it."


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Battle Of Sunagakure(Final):

Red-Eyes Vs. Sharingan

**AN: (bad news) I was not really feeling it this chapter, so sorry if you're disappointed. But(good news), I don't plan on quitting this story anytime soon.**

The battle is now figuratively over, Sunagakure taking the hardest hit with many hundreds of people dead. General Shinigami led the attack force and only he remains, not in the slighest bit jaded, still fighting the enemy after attempting to leave because of the the mysterious Muhai, who finally arrived, pissed.

"You've killed so many in such a small amount of time. No regard to life or death. This world must be purified of these kinds of people." Muhai crossed both arms, his eyes gleamed against the bright sun shining through the sandstorm.

"Your eyes..." Masaki squinted, preparing his scythe to attack, "Red. Yet, they do not belong to an Uchiha. Who are you?"

"If I'm lucky, you won't be alive long enough to find out." Even though it was not visible, it was obvious Muhai began to smile. "No more talk."

"Actually..." Masaki stuck out his left hand and raised his right foot as if he were standing on something. "I want to make this interesting." Two severely injured bodies replaced the air in each respective place. A woman under his foot and a young man in his hand. "These are called hostages."

"It's...Lee and Shiori!?" Muhai widened his eyes. "That's...what did you do to them?"

"I am not claiming to be a master of it. I guess you could compare it to Obito Uchiha. Space-Time ninjutsu." Masaki squeezed the back of the man's neck.

"Aaaagh... Mu-Muhai.." Rock Lee grunted in pain. "I...failed to stop him... Please...kill him."

"Don't worry." Muhai turned his attention. "Masaki, leaving them alive was a mistake. And...using them as hostages? Pathetic." He raised his right hand, focusing his chakra into the atmosphere. "You have never seen something like this before."

The sand all over the earth began to leak into small cracks beginning to form around Masaki's feet. "F-Fucking hell!?" His arm was yanked back by a seemingly invisible force, then his whole body was thrown back several meters, the ground collapsed under him dropping into a black circular pit. "What in the hell!?" His voice echoed up into the village.

Muhai pulled both hands toward his chest, thrusting the sand that held the hostages back at his feet. "Your safe now," he whispered, tossing both arms upward. The earth lifted to the air overlapped the pit, causing an enormous quake. "No one could survive that. Not even an Uchiha."

"I...am not...feeling to well," Lee coughed out. "I need...medical attention." He struggled onto both feet. Muhai placed his hand onto the injured man's shoulder, somehow completely restoring the wounds. "W, woah..."

"I will restore Shiori as well. Please go inform Lord Gaara of the situation." Muhai kneeled, repeating the healing process on the unconscious woman. "Hurry, I'm gonna eliminate any leftover survivors, if I find any."

Rock Lee nodded, safely caressing Shiori, then hopped away toward the manor, full of questions. The slowly dissipating sandstorm ended at last, clearing up the cloudless blue skies. With the peacefulness filling the air, it seemed as if the fight was done. Masaki was underground, trapped in the pressure of the planet. Still he called out, "Fire Style: Hellfire Cataclysm!"

Muhai stared at the sand, unknown to the scream. The earth ruptured, pieces of earth were flung everywhere as a vortex of flames nearly twenty meters wide engulfed the sky. In the middle, a man's shadow was levitating within, his red eyes pierced the fires. Hairline cracks formed all over the grounds around the vortex. Muhai held his place in the hellish environment.

The skies quickly blackened as the smoke engulfed the fresh air. Masaki threw out both arms, ordering a final attack. The flames of the tornado began to blast outward in a full circle, it enveloped the empty wasteland that held the ruins of most of the battle. It smashed it into the buildings hundreds of meters back, ripping apart the now empty building as the entire land began to unravel.

Masaki stayed suspended in air as he motioned his right hand, causing the fires to explode, decimating another tenth of the remaining Sand Village. "Hahahaha! That was one of my most powerful jutsu! Tell me, are you dead now!?"

A slight wind blew across the cracked earth, whistling loudly over the giant gaping hole Masaki floated over. It became very quiet over the next few minutes. Without any sign whatsoever, Masaki was slammed into the sand diagonally below him. Muhai stood over him, some of the wrap burned along with his flak jacket. He tried to stand up, only to be gutted with Muhai's foot and flipped onto his back. "What did you do...? What speed..."

"Stay in awe as I kill you." Muhai smiled.

Masaki placed his finger on his right temple, his point of view faded red and an outline of his enemy along with words appeared. "You..." In a white color, the words unidentifiable appeared. "Just who are you!?" He lunged up and clung to his opponent's shoulders, hitting his left arm into the side of Muhai's head repeatedly until he started to fall backward.

"Gah!" Muhai growled in surprise as Masaki landed on top him, getting crushed under the heavy black armor. "Dammit, get off!"

Masaki wrapped his hand around Muhai's neck and began squeezing tightly. "You are dead..." He used his other hand to clasp the white wrap still covering most of Muhai's face. "But first I wanna know who you really are!" The bandages were yanked off in one big pull, leaving the Uchiha completely open.

"That's it!" Muhai slammed his palm into the opening in Masaki's chest, blasting him high into the air. He quickly stood up off the sand motioning his right arm slowly then pressing it up toward the air around Masaki, a chunk of the earth was thrown at him, colliding in an instant. "Let the heavens show you the wrath of the Almighty, Light Of Redemption!"

The sky darkened and lightning filled the air, striking around multiple times before dropping unto Masaki's floating body. Sparks flew across the battlefield, light engulfed everything for split second of an instant. A loud crackling bang noise repeated twice then halted. Muhai took a deep breath, rubbing the dark red hair spiked above his skull. Two red lines that fell from each of his eyes to under his chin glowed slightly. "You...just will not give up, will you?"

A mangled body that strongly resembled a dead carcass, stood up very cautiously, shaking like it was a cold winter evening. "I...give..." It spoke, burned skin dripped red blood all over the remnants of pitch black armor that was now even more so. "Y,you...have...won..." It's raspy voice scraped Muhai's ears. The only notable color that shined brightly was the red of the Sharingan in his eyes.

"Of course, I am not gonna let you escape with your life." Muhai snickered, taking several steps forward. "The Uchiha is endangered...but they aren't worth saving."

"Y-Your...n,name...what...is it?" Masaki said.

"A dying man wants to know his killer? My name is Zakiasu Takahashi, one of the last Akatsuki members." Muhai wrapped up speaking as a blue ray of light enveloped Masaki. The moment it left, so did the body of the still alive Uchiha. "Where...? Damn, their technology is too much for me to comprehend."

Some footsteps from behind caught Muhai's attention. Gaara, supported by Kankuro, oddly smiled at him. "Thank you. Everyone in Sunagakure owes you a great deal."

"Ahahaha! Please, it was nothing. Just...we need to fix this mess. And...all the innocents and ninja that were murdered and died honorably, need a grave." Muhai glared at the Kazekage.

"And the enormous structural damage done by your fight and that strange blue explosion is far worse than I had foresaw," Gaara sighed depressingly. "Oh! D,damn!" He awkardly yelled, startling his brother. "Zakiasu, go to the meeting point to pick up B-Team!"

Muhai suddenely remembered, "Aw crap! I should only be a few minuted late! Gaara, take care and don't push yourself." His body slowly dissipated in a light that took him away then vanished.

"Uh, Gaara..." Kankuro's eyes seemed to be caught on something. "What, er, do we do about those two?"

A questionable look marked Gaara's face. "W,what do you..." He at last saw the unconscious Lee and Shiori. "Ah!? Quick get them to the medical team!"


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

An Ally(Or Two) For The Loneliest

**AN: Life is just passing by so fast... I am gonna be old before I realize it.**

_You have suceeded in ending the life of the Fifth Hokage. Once news reaches the Suna Rebellion, panic and fear shall overtake them. They will realize that nothing will ever be the same with a win...or a loss. Everything will be reset with a new monarchy rule. I feel this is the best option for the world. _A familiar voice spoke within a specific person's mind.

"That has nothing to do with me. I could care less either way," Sasuke spoke aloud while strolling along the main road leading toward Konohagakure in the new night darkness. A newly found brown cloak and hat covered his physical appearance. "I just want what you promised me."

_Another condition must first be met._

"What...?" His expression changed to quite an angry one. "Didn't I accomplish your fucking goal...?"

_Don't worry. This will be a much simpler task that must be done in the next hour. Better listen well... _The voice waited as Sasuke shook off his anger and nodded. _The one you left alive at the inn is following you._

The sound of sandals crunching against the road halted as Sasuke did. "How didn't I see it?" His eyes darted from left to right several times before he began to move again. "Damn."

_Convince her to finish her quest for revenge...and to join your cause._

"WHAT!?" Sasuke shouted in rage. "That's ridiculous as hell! I don't have a damn silver tongue!"

_Time is passing...make every second count, boy, oy, oy. _The word echoed repeatedly while the presence in his mind removed itself.

Sasuke began to think, rapidly throwing together ideas. _Damn! Damn, damn! First...gotta get off this road in case of passerbys. _He darted into woods on his right, closing in on his shack upon the hill, then stopping. "Come out...girl."

The forest spit out a teenage girl that looked around the age of sixteen. Her dark raven hair was tied neatly behind her head, a blank express on her face full of hate. "You spotted me?"

"I, I guess you could say that." Sasuke stumbled over his words as he struggled to think of a way to persuade this arch-enemy. "Listen, w-we don't have to fight."

"Don't have to? An eye for an eye. A life for a life. We do not need to fight but you must die here." She grimaced. "Don't you understand that my deadbeat father was the only family I had?"

"It was all a mistake! I swear I didn't mean any harm to come to the i-innocent!" Sasuke felt pathetic speaking like this. In the end, it is all for a greater power, so he managed to cope. "The heat of the battle got to me...I couldn't help it! My only target was Jastin!"

"J-Jastin...?" She started to lower the defensive walls surrounding her emotions. "So...it was a mistake?"

"Y,yes. Yes it was all...grh...a mistake. I am so sorry." Sasuke tried to break out in at least some sort of tears, watery eyes being all he could pull. "Tell me again, your name?"

"M...Megami Ochita." Snot filled her nose, causing a slight sniff to keep it in. "I..."

Sasuke's eye twitched as he resolved to do something that was restricted to himself. He slowly closed in on her and wrapped his arms around her body. "S-Stop crying."

Megami moved around in his light grasp, sniffling and crying. A sharp pain suddenly dug into Sasuke's torso, a liquid quickly ran down his stomach. "A...gh..."

"Don't worry. I only had to get revenge. This will not kill you." Her emotions left her words completely. She pushed him back and stood up fully. "Maybe...I can help you."

Sasuke held his stomach tightly while attempting to hold the pain in. "Y,you bitch...I...actually kinda like you. Blood continued to gush out of the fresh wound, his vision began to severely blur. "My...cabin..." The Uchiha feel back, fully fainting.

_Well... Get a load of that. I can't believe you did it. I was impressed...even if her own desires are part of the reason you suceeded. I shall give you forty percent of my power in a manji on your neck in the exact location of the curse mark. No pain with harm you during the placement so rest easy. Call upon it by focusing on a specific number between one and forty, the latter being the full extent. Just be careful of destroying yourself in the process._

A loud bang awoke Sasuke from his "dream". "What the hell?" A stabbing pain shot through his gut as he remembered the wound that was now bandaged in white. "What...?" His mind was dazed, blurring his sight. Four brown walls surrounding him were all he could make out.

Megami was rummaging through every unopened thing in the entire cabin. "You're awake? Good. Why in heaven's sake don't you have any food? I'm starved to death."

"B, bitch? Is that you...?" Sasuke attempted to wobble out of bed but gave up for fear of injury. "G-Get out of my stuff!"

"Hoho, stuff? There are some clothes and a few jugs of water but... I mean if you call that 'stuff', whatever." She chuckled. "My curtesy does not apply here or around you. A savage beast is used to ignorance, right, Sasuke Uchiha?"

He realized her purposely put on personality as she spoke. "Yeah whatever. How long was I out? And...what did you do to me?"

"Mmm... A few hours now. All I did was remove your shirt and wrap up that nasty little wound with whatever bandages I could find in this dump."

"Great, now answer this question..." Sasuke paused to call her attention to him. "Why would you want to join me?"

"Because...you are the third party in this war. A single man."

"That...didn't tell me anything. Come on, give me a better answer..and while you're at it, tell me how you survived both of our encounters."

"Hohoho...I will start with that question. Both our...meetings...were not at all as they seemed. It was all Genjutsu that cleary outranked your Sharingan."

Sasuke's ears perked up. "What!? Better than my eyes?"

"Yes... My Kekkei Genkai is just a tad bit better than yours. But it does have it's downsides. Ochita is not my real last name, it is Solo."

The name rung a small bell inside his head. He dug through his mind and found what he needed. "Solo? The clan that was brutally killed by a ninja bearing the Sharingan...fifteenish years ago?"

"They never did manage to find who did it," Megami sighed playfully then paced backwards and spun around toward Sasuke, "but I know it was Jakob Senshi."

"Who?" He questioned, surprisingly clueless.

"The leader of the empire. All I want to do is," She seductively bit on her lip, "torture him to death."

"Good, maybe we can help each other out... But don't expect me to look after you." Sasuke pulled himself up out of bed, clenching the white bandage on his torso. "And you never did tell me about this Kekkei Genkai of yours."

"Well some members of my clan were...special. They had another personality inside of them. Usually these seperate personalities were the complete opposite of the one that controlled the body. So it was two people in one."

"Ch...sounds like a skitzo."

"Very similiar. The upsides of this were...with the right upbringing, these personalities could work together, making everything twice as easy. And it was possible to utilize a powerful Genjutsu that seperated both people into two identical bodies, one real. What made this so strong was its ability to bypass any type of sensor, making it impenetrable."

"Then you..."

"Have two personalities. One of them, me, will aid you. The other has dedicated her life to kill you for your murder of our adoptive father. But she is gullible, as you could tell from earier."

"Tell me it's controllable..."

"Somewhat. If I start acting strange then you know it's the other me. Anyway I am also capable of mind transfer—like the Yamanaka clan, except my other personality will occupy the body while I enter another's mind."

"This sounds like a hassle. All I know is what I said before, look after yourself and don't get in my way. Let me add, don't kill me when I sleep to that list." Sasuke snipped while preparing to yawn. "That knockout counts as my sleep...so come with me outside."

Megami's curiousity was piqued so she did as he said, following him to the clearing and standing across from him. "What is it?"

"Stand guard. Literally put your guard up because you might die." Sasuke kept walking until a few meters seperated them. She huffed while prepairing to brace. "Now..." He closed both eyes. _What was it he said? One to forty? Let's not overdue it...then again forty percent of his strength could be nothing. Gah... I'll start with one._

"Well?" Megami impatienty asked, watching his expression change to an angrier one.

The Manji on his neck glowed purple, a slight aura surrounded the air. "This is it?" He shouted upwards, then directed his attention to the girl. "Dammit! Move!"

She looked at him funny before hopping to the left. Sasuke ripped through the air right beside her and slammed his fist into a tree a meter behind her former position. It dug into the oak as far as he could fit his arm. "I'm stuck? No..." A purple aura engulfed his arm as he yanked it from the tree in a single pull. "Heheheh...not bad for one percent." The aged tree began to split into two as the seconds piled then fell into parts around him. "Hahahaha! I wanna try five! Imagine what five is capable of! Wait...TEN! AHAHAHA!

Megami stared at him laughing from afar with another strange look. Quieting her words she spoke aloud, "What kind of psychopath did I get involved with...? Ah well, at least he hot. Yes...rather hot indeed."


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Ramen Is Bitter

Now that the skirmish with the empire is over, Sunagakure can rebuild. Gaara is now fully recovered, which means he can shape most of the buildings lost out of sand as well as repair the lost chunk of the wall surrounding the village. Naruto feels terrible for not helping out, even though it was ordered to that he hold his place. A quick funeral was held for the hundreds of lives lost, both ninja and civilian. Sakura, Ino, and Shikamaru were teleported back to the Kazekage by Muhai just before he returned to fight Masaki, which means the Sage's Scroll of Sealing was now in the hands of the rebellion.

Naruto and Killer Bee were given back their Tailed Beasts by request. The ceremony took many hours, but in the end the Kyūbi and Hachibi were reunited with their host Jinchūriki. Meanwhile, the war was at an odd stalemate. Neither side made a move for many days, which turned to a few weeks, then a month. The only assumptions that could be made were that the empire was fighting itself after five former ninja defected to the Suna Rebellion.

Missions were no longer a large priority and only a few ninja went on any since Konohagakure was destroyed. Some of the many ninja not going on missions included Kakashi and his two students.

The trio of ninja made their way to any ramen shop they could find in this "sand hellhole" as Kanari said. Once again a small storm was cooking up, reducing the amount of travelers outside. Kakashi promised to pay for this meal for all the hard work both his students have done. At last, they found a ramen shop that looked quite nice.

Ross opened the sliding door leading inside to see it was completely empty. Instead of sitting at the counter, Kakashi decided they should use one of the booths, he sat beside Kanari just in case a certain teenager made a move. She instantly complained that the brown-greenish color scheme disgusted her as did the creepy ornate masks all over the walls.

"What you have?" An old man with a lazy right eye, covered in scars, snuck up on the three to scare two of them silly.

Ross awaited Kakashi to speak, his heart pounding faster than a psychopathic ninja after revenge for his older brother. His teacher didn't budge an inch. Finally, he decided to answer, "I-I-I'll h-have an...uh...ch-chicken ramen?"

"I'll have pork with miso flavorings, I guess!" Kanari giggled aloud, not scared in the slightest. It quickly occured to both the males that she was doing it on purpose to make something hopefully funny happen to the poor guys.

"And you sir?" The older man turned to their master. "Uh...?" He uttered after seeing nothing. Kakashi left them alone in the dark barely lit old ramen shop that probably had demons awaiting them to eat up until they were plump enough to eat themselves...at least these thoughts were drowning Ross' mind. "I get it to you in five minutes."

Relief replaced the worried thoughts as the man's apparent peg leg clacked against the wooden floor as he left. Ross leaned forward, hiding his face. "Your over cheery attitude is going to get us killed...did you look at that man!?"

"Oh no. Us alone in the restraunt with a creepy old man!?" Kanari spoke toward the counter where the man was cooking up what Ross hoped was ramen.

"SHHH!" He lurched over, pulling her close enough to shut her up with his other hand. The old man looked around at them with a strange look in his one good eye. "O-Oh...I, I was j, just...I mean she was saying 'ooOh that guy looks all creepy a-and like an old meanie face and stuff' and w-was telling her 'Oh no, I am uh...sure he is a respectable business gentlemen with woman all ovet him and had a large pe..."

The man had not paid attention to anything Ross said because he had turned back to cooking before that speech even began. Kanari was lying on the booth seat, rolling around as far as the seat would allow her, laughing at him. "Bwahahahahahahah! Omigod Omigod! I am dying! HAHAHAHA!"

It was hard for her to her stop giggling even as the old man slowly returned to the table. "Here you go. Enjoy much." He bowed to them before steadily returning to the back room next to the bar.

Both green bowls of ramen sat in front of them for many minutes. After the examination of the food, Ross decided to leave his be. "Yeah...not eating this. And..." He reached over to the bamboo chute glass of fresh green tea. "Where...did this...come from...? I hate tea..."

Kanari tied up her bright blonde hair in a tight ponytail and began to eat into the bowl like some sort of demon fox. Being a tidy girl, Kanari was supposed eat like a normal human...is what Ross thought. Barely two minutes past before she had gulped down the entirety of both ramen bowls. "Ahh! Wow! That was like ridiculously good!" She got up and placed some Ryo on the table. "The Sand village didn't have that bad of—" Kanari dropped onto the table and slid onto the ground.

"Kanari!?" He stood up and rushed to her aid. "Sleeping pills? No...she is unconscious. Wake up..."

An overwhelming pain overcame the back of Ross' head as he fell onto his comrade, barely able to keep his eyes open. A slim figure wearing silver armor with some sort of blue hair alongside what seemed to be the ramen shop owner were what he could make out before giving out. A voice began drawing him back. "Silly ninja. Did you think that you two could just leave the army with no consequences? Now we have to set a public example."

"E...xec...uction?" Ross mumbled barely before falling unconscious.

"Hehehehe...yep. A special one right in the middle of Teito... No wait, right on top of the Kazekage's mansion."

Strange beeping noises awoke Ross, who instantly attempted to get up. Failing, he glanced around at his situation. All four limbs as well as he torso had been strapped down and he was shirtless. Machines of all sorts lined the walls, high-tech computers, large tubes, and wire. Kanari was nowhere in his field of vision. "H-Hey...?"

"I am right behind." A familiar accent grabbed his attention, calling him to tilt his head back to see the ramen shop owner. "Actually I am doctor for Jakob's Empire. Much highly regarded one. Name is Nicolai. Today I am here to extract Zerobi."

"What!? I'll die!"

"Well actually is only eighty percent chance of death. If you live, you die like girl in front of Sand Village." The man's peg leg hit the tile ground multiple times while he walked around the strange room. "Then two lovebirds can spend afterlife together forever."

Ross didn't bother struggling, the restraints were clearly very sturdy. Instead, he sat and thought. Worry was dripping from the flooded brain on both sides. "Is there any other way out of this?"

"Actually if you—No." Nicolai snickered a little while rolling his metal cart full of tools over to the table Ross was strapped to. "I promise it no hurt you. Peaceful, eh?"

**You are going to die.**___I know... _**Do you not know what that word means? **_Just shut up, I am familiar with the term you freak. _**It makes no difference to me, once I am extracted, I will destroy anything in my sight. But, maybe I can lend you my power as I did when you fought Jastin's lacky. **_Why would you do that? _**Because it will entertain me more than you can imagine. **_I...can't do that._ **Swallow whatever pride you have and except it...or slowly die, never to see any of your friends again.**

"I inject novacane into you to null pain." Nicolai sprayed the needle in his hand by squeezing the plunger to check it, then pegged his way over to the metal table. "Goodbye little one. Is all for greater good."

The old man was suddenely flung across the room by a kick to the face. Ross who had held his eyes shut tight, cracked them open. "...Kakashi-sensei!?"

"Don't worry. I rescued Kanari from the other one. Seems like the bait worked," Kakashi scoffed.

"Ugh... What is this bait?" The doctor used the computers aroubd him to get up.

"B-Bait!?" Ross panicked. "I was bait?"

"Sort of. The Kazekage assumed that the proprieter of this ramen shop was of the enemy and the holder of the Zerobi would be an excellent target for them to show their true motive."

"Idiot! Master could not be beaten by you!" Nicolai shouted while beginning to laugh. A loud bang filled the room as the door was knocked down. The blue haired man stepped in with a strange smile.

"Remember my name: Leon Kuwagawa." That specific name rang a bell within Kakashi's head.

"Naruto told us about you...Elite General Leon. Where's Kanari!?"

"Don't worry love. Hostages aren't something I approve of." Leon's sly voice spoke. "I do ever so much wanna see the power of the Copy Ninja... Just maybe you can fulfill that dream?"


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Delusions Of Friendship

A confrontation between the Copy Ninja and one of the three Elite Generals. Nicolai was on standby and Ross was on the metal table almost directly between the two.

"Why take the Zerobi's Jinchuriki?" Kakashi steadily entered a battle position while pulling a Kunai from the pouch strapped to his leg. "That doesn't seem like a very 'good guy' thing to do.

"Doesn't it? You have seen what that beast is capable of, yes? If that power were to be utilized by our enemy, it would become quite the hassle to put down. Soooo, I am here to remove it from the Suna Rebellion's grasp." Leon adjusted his slightly altered silver armor with a dark grin. "Copy Ninja...did you know that I myself was once a talented little ninja? Indeed it was a happy existence..."

"What's the point of your story?" Kakashi growled as he held up his kunai to defend. "I could care less about that."

"Heheheh... Don't you know that nearly every soldier in our empire is just a regular human, not trained in any Ninjutsu. Only some of us are gifted in the ninja arts," Leon sneered.

"Enough!" Kakashi shouted. "In only minutes, backup will have you surrounded."

"Then, we'll make this quick. Don't blink. The Ninjutsu I've mastered is far more advanced than that eye can keep up with."

"What...do you...mean?" _What's happening to me? Why am I fighting this guy? Stupid question. He is my enemy. This man isn't on my side. Leon is an imperial general sent here to take Ross away...but maybe that's a good thing? _Kakashi threw his right hand over the one eye visible, swiping to the left to pull up the headband over his Sharingan.

"What's wrong? You seem...out of it." Leon's lips created a sly smile.

"Get ready!" Kakashi closed his normal eye and charged at his opponent, releasing the kunai in hand and vanishing. Leon kicked Nicolai out of the way and dodged the thrown weapon, making a cross guard with both arms as Kakashi's right fist dug into his stomach. "Got you."

"Agh...why?" Leon cried out in pain. A sudden urge overcame Kakashi, a signal from his brain telling him to pull back, which he followed obediently, hopping back.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Another signal told him to say. _What the hell am I saying!? This...isn't like me at all! Snap out of it!_

"I accept your apology, friend." Leon sincerely lifted the corner of his mouth to smile. "Maybe next time don't hit so hard, I felt that through the armor."

"Did you? Looks like I underestimated myself." _Wait...I didn't mean to say that. Why do I keep...? _"What are you doing to me!?"

"Hm? What's that? I wouldn't dream of hurting you, friend."

"STOP! I am not your friend!" Kakashi started to get aggravated, losing his cool demeanor for a moment. "I...mean..."

"Why are you yelling at me?" Leon asked, frowning.

The atmosphere changed. Rage and anger were replaced with niceness and serene grace. The Copy Ninja took a deep breath as he let his guard down. An opportunity not wasted upon Leon, he reached at his back and before even a second past, Kakashi was on the ground. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Ross yelled out.

Leon reattached the Ganburedo to his back, fresh from firing. "Oh! I am deeply sorry, friend. My hand slipped!"

Kakashi gasped for air, blood was pouring out of throrough gash down his chest. If that wasn't enough, a bullet had pierced through his left lung and out to hit the wall. "I...t...sl...ipped? It's...o...k...ay..."

"What!? It's okay!? Kakashi-sensei! You're talking crazy! PLEASE STAY ALIVE!" Ross shook the shackles that held him to the table, attempting to escape with all his strength.

"Oh my. Please stay alive!? Why would I let my friend die?" Leon slid his hand through his blue hair, then snapped his hand at Nicolai. "Keep him alive."

The doctor hussled to grab a couple syringes and rushed over to the fallen ninja. "Keep still. I keep alive." He stuck one needle into Kakashi's arm and plunged down. After nearly a minute, he placed the second needle into his right temple. "There...rest."

"What are you doing to him!?" Ross flailed repeatedly.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Leon moved over to the side of the table the Jinchuriki was strapped to. "Let's just remove that monster inside you nice and easy—"

Sand shot out from the ground, making multiple holes in the floor as it engulfed Leon and yanked back into the nearest wall. "Foolish choice." Gaara stepped in from the door leading out to the ramen shop. "Showing yourself to us. Such a high ranked leader probably has a lot of information."

"I've been restrained?" Leon tried waving his arms to no avail. "That...is not...cool."

Muhai walked in after the Kazekage and kept on until reaching Leon. "Imagine what kind of info we could extract from you... I guess you aren't the smartest of the Elite Generals."

"Hahahahaha! You are fu–un. Those red eyes are gorgeous ya know," Leon complimented.

"Shut up. Lord Kazekage, let's get him to the dungeon."

Gaara grimaced as he got closer to Leon. Suddenely, without warning, his expression became less angered then almost happy. "Why? Muhai I think we should give him another chance." He looked up at the six foot tall ninja beside him.

"I feel that way as well..." Muhai agreed.

The sand receeded into the holes left by the entrance; Leon dropped to his feet from the slightly elevated position against the wall. "Thank you guys. Take care of Kakashi, he accidently hurt himself pretty bad."

"Lies! He's lying!" Ross shouted across the room.

Gaara met eyes with the Chunin, "What reason would he have to lie to us? I doubt he would do such a thing," he said.

"What are you talking about!? That guy is our enem—"

"Shut it," Leon signalled Nicolai to follow him. "Don't listen to that boy, he will lie your ear off. Anyway, I do hope to see you again, Gaara." He passed the Kazekage and left the room along with the doctor.

"Come Ross, allow me to undo these restraints." Muhai proceeded to do as he said while the Jinchuriki stayed silent. "Are you okay? What exactly happened?"

"...That Leon tried to dissect me and take the Zerobi."

"That's crazy. Leon would never do that...OH! That reminds me!" Muhai shuffled to Kakashi, grasping his unconscious body tight. The two large wounds vanished within seconds. "There...rest easy."

"How... Nevermind. Why won't you believe me!?"

Gaara tilted his head. "There's no way he could do something like that. Leon is a good friend of mine."

"But he is the ENEMY!" Ross emphasized.

"Maybe not," A confused Muhai spoke, "Leon can probably be coaxed into siding with Suna. Me and Gaara are pretty buddy-buddy with him. Just keep quiet."

"..." Ross hopped onto his feet and felt his slim wrists where the straps once were. "So why did he abduct me?"

"Probably to secure the Zerobi from you. It's pretty dangerous just sitting in your gut." Muhai looked around at the technology while he spoke. "Lord Gaara, I think we should get Shikamaru to look at all these computers and see what we can find out."

"I shall get him in contact." Gaara turned toward Ross. "Take Kanari and leave. Please don't speak of this incident to anyone, it must remain secret. People may begin questioning their leader if it gets out.

The odd moment was left behind as Ross left the room, walking out into the ramen shop. Kanari seemed to have just awoke, so he comforted her with his words. A bombardment of questions were fired at him by the curious girl, to which he promised he'd answer later. Both of them left the shop; days later it was gone and no one acted as it was ever there.

**How interesting...Leon Kuwagawa, just what kind of Genjutsu did you cast? It even effected "Muhai". Heheheh, I'll ask you myself next time we meet. If you live long enough, that is.**


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

Imaginary Bonds And Truths Masked As Lies

**AN: I am proud of my work. *sniff sniff* Except maybe I'll completely rewrite Sekai Saikyō No when I finish this...if I'm not abruptly killed by a murderer. Anyways, I updated my profile...not that...it matters...it's just been about 7 months... Sorry, I'll leave you to your reading.**

After a long visit with Rock Lee at the hospital, Naruto planned to return to his temporary home on the edge of Sunagakure, but his posse of Hinata, Neji, and Tenten refused to let him. The three had just returned from Teito after a certain royal family member aided their escape. It was clear to Neji that Tenten wanted both Naruto and Hinata to be together and she did whatever it took to keep it that way.

"So-ooo I guess I have to get going to the weapon shop before they close!" Tenten awkwardly said.

Naruto glanced up, "It's like mid day. Why would the store close so early?" He said with a clue of the motive hidden in her words.

"Oh, uh I meant uh...Lee! Yeah! I forgot to give Lee his new vest that I bought exactly ninety-eight days ago on a tuesday at almost three o'clock!" Tenten yanked on Neji's hand, pulling him as she ran off.

"Wha...? Uh...Hinata, don't you think that was kinda weird?" Naruto faced her with his usual expression. A slight whimper resounded in the air, prompting Naruto to ask, "woah! Was...that you?"

Hinata's cheeks lit up a bright red as she yanked the light blue hood behind her around the side of her head, to cover most of her face. "I-I...y, yes."

"Really? Wow, just like a real dog. That's some talent ya got!" Naruto laughed, his seriousness made the hidden Tenten somewhat depressed as she hopped from one hiding point to the next. The lack of people in the streets made it much harder than she could've imagined. Neji wasn't far behind after being threatened to "have his sack crushed by a mace" if he didn't comply.

Hinata threw her hood back and took a deep breath. "Y,yeah!" For once she struggled with all her might to brim with confidence. After realizing she was alone with the one man she would give herself to, she decided to toughen up. "I...guess." She also just realized how stupid his question was and that she replied as if it mattered.

"So anyway Hinata, I need to get—ow!" Naruto was smacked in the head by a small pebble. "Hey!" He looked around for the culprit, only to find a few people here and there walking to their newly rebuilt sand homes. "An...anyway I need to go b—OW!" A much larger rock scathed his face, knocking him to the floor. "Dammit! Who is doing that!" His scream echoed, startling the civilians.

"M-Maybe we should g, get a b, bite to eat?" Hinata forced herself to say. "...alone...together..."

"Yeah, I guess. But what was that last thing you said? You own some feathers?" Naruto disregarded the assault and rushed to the nearby pastry shop.

The place was pretty rundown, missing a window and full of a simply rotten atmosphere. Only a couple of people around made the two ninja not quiet alone. A multitude of different desserts filled the two display cases that doubled as a counter for the innocent girl that ran the joint. She looked about Naruto's age with a good feature here and there.

"I'd like some...uh...hmmm..." Naruto eyed the glass cases for two minutes before asking, "is there any like ramen shaped cinammon sticks?"

The owner glared at him for exactly fifteen seconds, then giggled, "you're funny. But just for you I'll make some...since you are the hero of Konoha. Oh and out with your pretty girlfriend too huh? Lucky!" She skipped into the back room, leaving them alone with the awkwardness.

"G...irlfriend...? Hahahaha!" Naruto grabbed the attention of the people around him for a small amount of time before they returned to eating. "That's funny, she thought we were..."

Hinata's face was beet red and her body refused to move. "Oh! Are you okay?"

Tenten peeked in from the broken window. "Thick headed as hell...but then it wouldn't be half the fun, right Neji?" She looked over at him in the other window; he nodded, still scared from the threat looming over his head.

The owner returned with a bowl full of cinnamon flavored noodles. "Here ya are! On the house."

Naruto ignored the fake ramen for his worry. "Did you catch a cold on the way back? Here..." He pulled her face close to his, pressing his forehead against her own. "Wow! You are seriously hot! Should we go back to the hospital?"

"N-N-N-N-N-No...I, I, I...am...g-g-good." Hinata whispered then dropped like a log, unconscious.

"Oh no!" Naruto lifted her body, squeezing on the curves of her body without realizing how tramatic it would be if she was conscious. "Sorry! I hafta go!" He shouted as he ran out of the store.

**Look out behind you. **Kurama spoke.

Something drove itself into Naruto's back with enough power to throw him forward. He managed to spin around so Hinata would land atop him, keeping her safe. "What the hell?!" He slid Hinata to the ground beside him and stood up, sand sticking to the back of his jacket. "What is this?" One finger slid across his back and returned to his front, black liquid on it. "It's...ink?"

"Yes, how very observant." A vaguely familiar voice answered back.

"Hey..." Naruto shuffled his thoughts. "I know that voice! It's...hmmm..."

**Human memory capacity is rather sad. Do you truly not remember? It is the one you call...**

"Sai." The aforementioned stepped out of the shadows around the pastry shop. "Did you forget your friend? I am Sai." He said. His outfit left his stomach exposed as always but now had a much longer backside, running down his legs similiar to a cape. "Why didn't you remember my voice?"

"Sai! Oh I-I'm sorry but right now I gotta get Hinata to the hospital!" Naruto turned to reunite with his ally only to be hindered by two uniquely drawn animals that resembles dogs. "Sai...why is your art in the way?"

"Answer that question yourself. If I'm not mistaken it will reveal itself if you think hard about what you've done to Elite General Leon Kuwagawa." Sai stretched a scroll apart from hand to the other, his paintbrush that doubled as a knife in between two fingers on his right hand.

"L...eon? Oh! That guy from when I got back from fighting Orochimaru! Wait..." Naruto quickly ran through his mind. "I don't remember doing anything to him."

"Lies. I would not ever have expected you Naruto, to lie to your friends. I guess...Leon was right. You're just a fool that doesn't realize what's really happening! Lying to protect your name!"

"Sai! I, I don't know what your talking about! Just keep calm, I gotta save Hinata!" Naruto charged through the ink, splattering it all over his outfit.

"Still prattling?" Sai cocked his head to the right. "She is fine. The only thing that took her conscious is the actions of a numbskull. Please stand still and await punishment."

"Punishment? What did I do!?" Naruto yelled out, halting his rush.

"According to Leon, all of this is your fault. Naruto Uzumaki, because you made Pain die, Jastin was released. The Forbidden Gems would have never came together if he had stayed imprisoned. This chain reaction led to Jakob's insane idea of using them to rule over this world...that is until he saw Jastin's power and knew he must first be removed. So by allying himself with Konoha, he would have Jastin destroyed and backstab the Leaf at the same time, successfully taking control of the strongest of the hidden villages." Sai inhaled after he finished, worried Naruto wouldn't comprehend a thing he said.

"W, What does this have to do with you!?" Naruto began to lose his grip on the confused anger coursing through him.

**Heheheh. Do you not see it? Either your truly an idiot...or maybe your blinding yourself on purpose. Your friend is now... **Kurama growled.

"I am now an enemy of your cause. So fight me...now!" Sai pulled the cap of the blade that doubled as his paintbrush and rushed forward. Naruto panicked and closed both eyes. A gut wrenching squish noise left the deep hold embedded in his stomach as the unbreakable knife dug into it. Another noise soon followed, removing the knife from its wound.

"I, I was too late. Forgive me." Neji looked back at Naruto with his Byakugan, Tenten now tending to the wound. "Tenten, allow me to do this. Your skills as a ninja have...deteriorated since Sasuke's attack."

Sai quickly recovered from being hit back and hopped to his feet. "So you side with him?"

"Of course. Naruto has done more for me than the empire could ever do." Neji carefully readied himself by sticking out both palms in front of him. "I guess...we have to fight."

"Too bad...I wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict."

Hundreds of meters north of the ninja, Gaara was preparing to enter a meeting with the remaining leaders of the shinobi world. Ross rushed up the stairs of the Kazekage's Manor to speak with him, in order to test out a theory carefully compiled by Kanari.

"Gaara!" Ross said at the top of his lungs. The red-haired leader looked back at the ruckus from his position on the staircase leading to the meeting room. "I just wanted to ask you something!"

"...Make it quick." He replied.

"Leon Kuwagawa...how is he your friend?"

"Leon... We...Urgh!" Gaara placed a hand on his forehead. "I...friends..." A quick shake of his head chased away the confusion. "Why would you think I was allies with an Elite General? The only time I have ever met with him was during his escape when Muhai and I saved you."

Ross' eyes widened as the evidence proved Kanari's theory. "No...that'a not what h—" A loud explosion from the south disrupted them. Whirlwinds of sand engulfed the shopping district of Sunagakure for several seconds before vanishing, leaving only smoke in its wake. "What...?"

"Can we ever get a break...? Dammit... I think I can feel Naruti there because of the Nine Tails, I'm sure he can resolve whatever problem that may occur." Gaara turned back and continued walking up the stairs.

_That meeting must be pretty important... I think I should get over to the shopping district. _Ross pondered. _No...chances are othet ninja will be on the way, I think I'll just spy on this meeting._ He sneaked up the steps, turning his back on the dust cloud that seeped out the dark purple smoke that would frighten anyone.


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

Naruto VS. Sasuke(Part 1):

Inconclusive Ending

**AN: Sorry the story was late, it got deleted and I had to rewrite it...what a drag.**

_You like the power I gave you, yes? It sates the needs of your hunger. So before enacting revenge, I will allow you test the powers I gave you against another who consumes your life. If you survive, I shall disclose to you the location of the remaining Sound ninja. Entertain me._

"This is a joke. Goddammit this a fucking joke!" A loud scream echoed across the shopping district, bouncing off the buildings to reverberate. "But...I guess it could be fun. Ready yourself Naruto."

The purple and white haze of smoke significantly vanished upon the echo of the voice. Neji held his position in front of a disgruntled Naruto, who's ears quickly perked up once he heard that familiar yell. "SASUKE!" He matched the tone of the first scream.

Sai picked up on the atmosphere and immediately removed himself from the haze surrounding them. Neji activated his Byakugan. "Naruto, I am going after Sai. I trust you to handle Sasuke. Tenten, take Hinata and go, you are in no position to fight after your skirmish with him last time." He nodded back to Naruto who hesitantly reciprocated as he hopped off after Sai. Tenten quickly pulled up the unconscious Hinata and left by saying, "It's in your hands."

Sasuke inched forward at Naruto then pointed forward, "Megami, kill them both," he sneered.

"Anything for you Sasuke-poo3!" She shot past Naruto out of the fog after Hinata and Tenten. "Just don't go dying on me!"

"You won't escape. Hinata and that other bitch are both dead." Sasuke purposely attempted to anger the Jinchuriki; he also tried to figure out when he was given such an emasculine name.

"Sasuke. This isn't about them...why would you attack them!?" Naruto shouted in rage then calmly held his breath. "No. I'm undermining Hinata and Tenten. They can win against her, just like I'm going BEAT YOU!" A red aura engulfed Naruto as the Kyubi lent him its power to him. "Let's go Kurama!"

"Relying on another source for power? Why don't I match that?" Sasuke's clothes began to release a purple mist as the Manji on his neck began to glow. "If you survive this...I guess I'm gonna need more power."

The yellow Fox Cloak instantly clad Naruto and the red chakra lingered in the air around. "This time'll be different. One way or another, I'll kill you!"

The purple mist surrounded Sasuke, making him invisible to the world. Thin purple lines crawled down to tops of his arms and created a circle over each his hands. The same happened to his face as his pupils darkened to purple and two thins dropped from his eyes to the bottom of his chin. "I'm gonna use ten, can you survive ten?" His hair tinted a dark violet and a 10 tatooed itself under the Manji.

"I don't know what that means but...I'll survive anything you throw at me!" Naruto zipped through the haze leaving a yellow flash behind himhim as he clashed into Sasuke's blade with his own kunai, reinforced with yellow chakra. The haze cleared instantaneously as soon as the weapons met. "W, what have you become...?"

Sasuke pushed him back with the blade and followed up with a thrust that was diverted by the yellow kunai. Naruto spun around him as recovered from missing and jabbed the kunai into his shoulder. A hard substance prevented the blade from even reaching his skin, it grew more and more until Naruto finally realized what it was, "Susano'o!?"

A strong wind blasted Naruto back against the sweet shop. Sasuke turned around, bringing the monsterous beast with him. A light purple aura made up it's parts, a bow equipped shield in its left hand and a black flame in its right. The helmet making up its head was shaped like a falcon, giving it a ghastly appearance. Upon its body were two right arms coinjoined at the elbow and one left. "That's right Naruto. Everything in your life has led up to this moment, where you die by my hand."

"Grr..." Naruto collected himself little by little. A gaping pit ate up his stomach, he could feel the difference in their power without even trying to. "I guess, I gotta go all out!" The Master Sage robe cloaked his yellow skin and turned the same color and the Sage's Staff materialized in his right hand. "Now, Sage's Water!"

Thousands of gallons of aqua dropped from the air around Sasuke like multiple tons of rock, smashing into the earth and instantly morphing the sand into mud. A black blade sliced through the liquid and nearly knicked Naruto as he flung himself out of range. The Susano'o released an aura of chakra that immediately disintegrated the water, then dropped the black sword down upon its shield and streched the bow string back. "Inferno style: Piercing Black Arrow!"

Naruto ran up the side of the building nearest to him. "Sasuke!" He shouted as a voice ran through his head, saying: **IDIOT! MOVE! **The black arrow skimmed his left pantleg as he threw himself away from the arrow. Darker than black fire slowly began to burn away at Naruto's leg, he quickly reacted by tearing pantleg and tossing it into the dirt. The arrow he dodged crashed into the Kazekage's mansion with a loud bang that shook the entire village. Flames shot out from the wreckage toward the surrounding living quarters. "NOOO!"

"Inferno style: Yasaka Magatama." Sasuke continued with the relentless onslaught as he called out another jutsu. The black orb in one of Susano'o's right hands became to distort, it raised that hand as hundreds small black fire balls shot out at the distracted Naruto. "HAHAHA! Goodbye Naruto!"

Each black flame collided with a round barrier of sand surrounding Naruto. The sand shield began to burn away as it was fired back at Sasuke. Just before contact he chanted another jutsu, "Inferno style: Flame Control." The sandy Amateratsu dropped down to the ground and withered away. "You managed to stop my attack? You don't need to meddle in our battle, Gaara."

A platform made of the ground hovered down next to Naruto, who happily welcomed Gaara. "I...wanted to end Sasuke...but...I don't think I can do it myself. Lend me your help Gaara."

"Naruto... Of course." He replied with a smirk.

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke breathed an enormous ball of fire that filled their field of vision with orange. The hissing noise of the fires grew louder as it closed in on them. The earth shot up to their protection and wrestled with the fireball, holding it back from injuring Gaara and Naruto. Susano'o swung down on them with the black orb that had once again became the sword. Another chunk of sand moved to protect them and stopped the blade from hitting its target.

"N, Naruto. You need to move." Gaara subtlely glanced over at him while struggling to keep away the attacks.

"What about you?" Naruto asked even though he had a strong feeling he knew the answer.

"Just go...NOW."

"No." Naruto disobeyed swiftly. The Nine-Tails chakra distorted and drained itself all into his right hand. "Sasuke...SASUKE! I'M...sorry." He moved back then ran forward several steps until he got to the roofs edge then released the yellow-black orb that had been created of the Fox's chakra. It ripped through Gaara's sand without slowing down then collided with Sasuke.

"Grh...AGGGHHHHH!" His pain filled scream filled the air and tugged at Naruto's conscience. The fire dissipated along with the Susano'o and Gaara dropped to his knees, gasping for air.

"Haah...hah...ha...Naruto..." Gaara managed to slip in before disgracefully falling to his side. "Go...check..."

Naruto hesitantly dropped from the building and made his way over to the lump on the ground. Behind the lump was a long rip in the earth from the Bijudama's aftermath. "Are you—"

An explosively loud popping noise grabbed Naruto's attention as something hit the ground between them. He hopped backwards to avoid any other attacks that may come his way. "Who's there?"

Someone fell backwards in between the larger gap between him and Sasuke. From what he could tell, it was a girl with a black Ganburedo with a feather hanging off the bottom of the hilt on a chain in her left hand. She spun around to face Naruto and aimed the gun at him. "You ain't gonna be touching this one anymore."

"Who're..." Naruto examined the young woman closely. Her provacative outfit threw him off for a second, consisting of a skin revealing navy blue bikini top that held her C-cup breasts, skin tight black short shorts, navy blue knee high boots, and form fitting blue armor on both arms. "Um... Are you supposed to be on a battlefield?"

She chuckled as she used her right hand to hold her own whote hair from her face. "It's all strategy. If I wear this while fighting nearly any man, they can't help but stare at my sexy body... Well actually I just think it looks really cute and matches my hair."

"Your...white hair." He raised an eyebrow.

"It...you monster! I can't help it! I was born with no pigmentation! That's it, you're done!"

She fired her weapon at Naruto, digging into his right arm.

"Gah...These...are painful." Naruto studied after being hit by an enemy Ganburedo for the first time. "Hey...what are you doing with Sasuke?"

The woman lifted his body up, "C'mon, it's time come with us," She softly said.

"Naruto...is...mine. Don't touch him...I...WILL...KILL...HIM." Sasuke muttered in a brief moment of consciousness.

Gaara floated down beside Naruto, "Put him down," he sternly ordered.

"Don't think so...Oh yeah, here." She tossed a small hand sized case into Naruto's hands. "King Jakob formally invited you and three others into the capitol city of Teito so that you all can watch the fight of a lifetime. In exactly one week, be at the newly built colosseum or be square...is what I told to say, er tootles!" A beam of blue shot down from the sky and she vanished along with it.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled up at where the beam seemingly came from, then turned his attention toward Gaara. "What do we do about this? Should I go?"

"Definetely. It gives us the freedom to enter the capitol city without any worry of battle. I strongly doubt it's a trap, we should make the most of this." Gaara smiled.

Naruto dropped his head then said aloud, "I guess I'm gonna go see a fight...and...bust Sasuke out of there!"


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

Roundtable

The damages caused at the Kazekage's Mansion were quickly repaired by nightfall. No one had been injured because of Gaara's dismissal of the council, leaving the building mostly empty. The Amateratsu flames were removed using Gaara's sand abilities and placed with leaves, leaving the fires to burn out along with them until nothing existed.

The remaining Konoha 11 managed to escape Teito without too much trouble, allowing Muhai some time off to lament in not being around during Sasuke's attack. A small meeting was put together the same night, in order to discuss what to do about Jakob's invitation, the random encounter with Sasuke and Sai, and the capture of Sasuke's female acquaintance.

It was held in the newly repaired mansion. Naruto stood at the somewhat large double door to the meeting room, waiting for the Kazekage's aids to open it for him. The two ninja bowed then pulled open each respective door. Naruto gripped the piece of paper with Jakob's invitation and walked in.

A round table made of hardened sand laid its shadow upon him. To the far side of the room were multiple glass windows that overlooked one half of Sunagakure. He avoided eye contact with the people sitting around the two meters in diameter table as he made his way to the closest open seat. "Let's go rescue Sasuke!" He yelled while standing up from his fresh seat, eyes meeting the faces around him. "Er..."

Around Naruto were many recognizable faces. Gaara stared at him from his seat across from him. To his immediate left sat Muhai then Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei..." He muttered after seeing his teacher after such a seemingly long time. Killer Bee sat beside Gaara then an empty seat and to Naruto's immediate left, Sakura.

An extended silence held the room for many minutes. The Kazekage eventually spoke. "We finally are able to set aside time for a discussion. First off, Sakura Haruno, you have been here for around one week. In all that time, I wanted to ask what became of you? Each of your teammates have already informed me of their own seperate paths."

"Me..." Sakura mumbled. She closed both eyes and drained all the memories from her mind. "I...was special to them. An incredible healer that could rival Lady Tsunade's own power. They took both of us into the castle, I was under surveillance at all times and Lady Tsunade was put under emergency care because of taking severe damage from the meteors."

Naruto kept quiet along with the other as Sakura gathered herself. "The soldiers treated me pretty well but gave me some drug that nullified my strength. All I did day after day was heal injured soldiers that were brought to me. I guess they were hurt while conquering other lands, huh? Anyway...Tsunade...I wanted to see her and find out if she was alright. Night came and I pretended to eat my pills...then broke out of my room."

"Naruto..." Gaara interrupted, "I am allowing you to remain, knowing full well that you may get lost in anger."

Naruto scrunched his brow and looked around at the faces staring at him. "What...?"

"There were no guards around my room. It was pretty obvious something was wrong. Lady Tsunade's chakra spiked for a moment...that told me exactly where they kept her, so I ran through the halls until I got close. Even though I didn't recognize any of the castle...I still made it to her room. A whole bunch of soldiers were lying around the door, not unconscious but still unable to see me. It was Genjutsu."

"Gen...jutsu?" Naruto thought of the first thing that came to his mind.

"Sasuke..." Sakura's eyes began to spill. "He was there...and he..." A flood of memories raced through her mind, washing the night into vision. "He killed her..." She dropped onto the table, covering her face as the tears came. "Sasuke...made her...die..."

_Grandma? Granny Tsunade is...gone? Just like...that? And Sa, Sasuke did it. _Naruto quickly realized her was the only one who didn't know. Painful sharpness ripped into his chest. Far worse than any pain he had felt in years. "Tsunade's gone? Sakura...who did it?"

"Sasu...ke..." She muttered, knowing full well that Naruto would lose it.

"He..." Naruto laid back in the seat under him and placed the ticket on the table. "Who do I take with me?"

Kakashi spoke first, but ignored Naruto. "The girl we captured, Megami Solo, was once disguised as a member of our own village under a false name. She has a very unstable personality and refuses to speak to us. Torture seems a little far...but we need whatever information we can get on Sasuke."

"Yo, that's cruel. Maybe if we use that Ino chick, we quickly figure out what she thinks." Killer Bee rhymed.

"Yes...that would be best. I just thought the circumstances my be different because of the clear skitzophrenia she exhibits but it should work." Kakashi nodded.

"Now for Mei Terumi, the Mizukage. She is still being held captive within Kirigakure by the imperial forces." Gaara grunted. "Should we send a team of four to free her?"

"Only the best or they'll end up not fresh...dead." Killer Bee said. "We gotta make an elite team."

"Muhai...would you?" Gaara asked.

"If you truly wish it. I could handle it alone if I try hard enough." He answered.

"That's suicide. No way," Kakashi spoke up, "we can't just throw away a ninja with your skill!"

Gaara exhaled, "Muhai, leave this meeting and go to your 'room'." A subtle signal was put into his voice, giving him the okay in order to leave alone. "I shall see to it that only the best go."

"Now, the last topic on the agenda...Naruto, you must go into Teito along with others with the purpose of watching some sort of show...right?" Gaara asked as if he knew already.

"Y...yes." Naruto withheld the anger from the recent topic combined with the fact that the ninja ignored him.

"I am leaving the choice up to you. Just remember that your main objective is to RESCUE Sasuke. We need him restrained and alive."

"I promise. Believe it!" Naruto stated, not happy in the least. He got up from the uncomfortable chair and left through the double doors without speaking or looking at anyone. A slight wind picked up as he walked down the exposed stairs toward the streets. Footsteps raced after him from the stairs as something wrapped its arms around his stomach. A soft warmth pressed against his back.

"Please...please take me Naruto. I'm begging you. I want to see him." The voice was filled with sadness. "I want to...see him...again."

"I have to kill him." Naruto surprised himself when those words came out. "It doesn't matter what Gaara says... Are you ready for that?"

"Y-Yes." She laid her head against his. "He has become a monster. We have to...only we can..."

**Don't chicken out this time. I wanna fight a good fight. It's been too long. **Kurama bellowed.

The follwimg days came fast. The nights were sleepless, leaving Naruto irritated and tired. Only two days remained until the show, which meant he had to leave alongside the two people he had chosen. Teito was around one day away on foot. He had no idea what was about to happen in the Imperial capital.


	21. Chapter 18(2)

Chapter 18.2:

Sasuke's Pain

The beam of blue fully absorbed both Sasuke and the young woman, distorting the atoms that formed them. As the light retracted, they were taken up into a strange metal device high into the atmosphere, then another light fell onto Teito, rearranging the atoms into the correct positions.

As Sasuke collected himself, something squeezed his neck. "Wha...?" He gasped. A tight metal collar pressed against his neck. "The hell?"

"Sorry. King says you're dangerous so we can't just let you roam free." The revealing woman smiled at him with a small blush. "Wow, you are like smoking hot. Damn. Anyway, that collar is used to negate your chakra and sap your physical strength. No escaping!" She walked away, leaving him to ponder alone.

_How I am supposed to know where to go? Hmm... _Sasuke looked around his surroundings. He was in some sort of garden surrounded by castle, the courtyard would be his first guess. _My body... I wonder if it has something to do with this damn collar. I feel weak._ He had four directions to choose from, randomly he settled with south.

The garden ended and was replaced with a hall with metal floors and walls with a red carpet lightly covering the hardness of the cool metal. Armored soldiers walked by him without so much as a second look. Sasuke finally managed to make his way out of the large castle and into the town of Teito. This city gave off a feeling of grandeur, many of the buildings were hundreds of meters tall. In sheer size, it made Konohagakure look small, yet Konoha was more outstretched in all directions.

A large billboard was attached to tall building aside the castle with the words; "The Sasuke Uchiha, gem of all bounty hunters, Versus the great Elite General Shinigami in a fight to the death!" He glared at the words for several minutes as passerby made their way around him. The people knew exactly who he was, choosing not to confront him for fear of death. A homeless man decided to take that chance of dying with nothing left to live for.

"UCHIHA!" The man shouted, instantly drawing a crowd.

"..." Sasuke slowly moved his eyes toward the slighty crazy hobo.

"Do ya know what kind of bounty is sitting atop that pretty little face? You stupid fuck! If I call the guards, they'll fucking kill ya without a second thought! Kiss my ass you bitch! GUARDS!" The hobo yelled repeatedly as the crowd moved back, making a larger circle. No soldiers came. "HEY! GU—" Sasuke turned around and headed back to the castle with many questions in mind. The homeless man fell into two pieces horizontally, splashing organs and gore out into the open, causing many weak stomach citizens to throw up the contents of their lunch. The collar may have restrained him, but his power was still more than enough to put down a civilian.

The soldiers guarding the throne were easily tossed aside by him as he stepped into the room holding the seat of King Jakob. Sasuke stared at him after glancing around at the Elite Generals in their respective seats. Leon Kuwagawa, Serah Senshi, and the girl that brought him here. "Ah...our guest," Jakob snickered. "Did you go outside yet?"

"You know I did," Sasuke growled.

"Good. I can only guess you are filled with questions? Hahaha! Should I answer them?"

"Who is this 'Shinigami' general? Is it Masaki?"

"Co-rrect."

"And why the hell are you making me fight him?"

"Hahaha. As I am sure you are well aware of, Sunagakure was attacked by a small squad of our army and the one leading them was none other than Masaki Uchiha. However...not only did he fail in crushing the entire insurgence, he also was severely beaten within an inch of his life by an unknown ninja of Sand."

"So...?"

"Masaki's punishment for failure is to be discharged from his position and...to be put to death. We are generous though, if one of the Elite Generals are discharged, they are given a single fulfillable wish. No matter how ridiculous, as long as it can be accomplished, we shall get it done."

"That bastard...asked to fight me?"

"Co-rrect. The last wish of him was to be able to fight the strongest Uchiha..." Jakob signalled the new Elite General to get up. "Seikou. Take the Uchiha boy to his room. Its luxury."

"Oh good. I hoped we could be alone again." She winked while pulling the sturdy Sasuke with her. After multiple zigs and zags, she brought him to the room he would be using for the next week. "The bed is a Ki-ng si-ze..."

"Leave." Sasuke pushed past her and into the room. It was only one room with a bathroom attached. He sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. "I told you to leave. Now."

"Awww. But you must be awfully lonely after all this time away from the Leaf Village." Seikou inched closer to him with a devious smile.

Sasuke looked up, his eyes red. "GO." He raised his voice. Seikou sighed after a long pause, then left him as he ordered.

_I remember what he said...Masaki Uchiha wanted to fight me. He wanted me to kill him. But...for once I...don't know if I can win. Not yet. _Sasuke laid back on the soft blanket under him.

The open doorway to his room was suddenely filled. A person lingered at the spot, awaiting notice by Sasuke. "Who're you?" The question left his mouth. "Not very good at hiding your presence."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten? How can I not be remembered?" A pale skin young man came into his eyes. Familiarity filled the ambience.

"You..." Sasuke said with fear. "How did you get here? Why are you here!?"

Warusuke stepped closer, the purple around his eyes glowed. "Why am I here? Hahaha...clueless little Sasuke. I guess you really don't know...about our truce?"

"The Sound ninja and the empire? Wait...why the hell would I care? Tell me why you're here, come to fight me again?" Sasuke got off the mattress and readied himself to battle.

"Why would I want that? You already failed to save Konohagakure. The only reason you even breath is because I protected you from the meteors. To keep you alive so that you may drown in the thoughts of your failure." Warusuke widened his eyes. "Did it ever occur to you?"

"What...?" A dreadful feeling overcame Sasuke. "What the hell?" He grunted in anger, slashing through Warusuke in an instant. The man melted into the ground as if he were never there. "Drown in my thoughts... I did fail didn't I? He rubbed it in by saving me, I would've died if not for my enemy... DAMMIT!"

The moon soon covered the lands as the sky darkened. Six days remained until the battle. As Warusuke planned, Sasuke's thoughts were consumed with the idea of his failure. He questioned if he had any power at all. Maybe he wasn't as strong as he always thought he was.


	22. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

Capitol Of The Nations

**AN: My phone was stolen... So I got a replacement. Sorry if anything is off. Chapter uploads may be erratic over the course of however long it may be.**

Naruto traveled the road that led directly to Teito, knowing not how many times Sasuke walked along the same path. Trailing behind him were Sakura, the one that had fallen for Sasuke as all the other girls that crossed him, and Ross, the temporary pupil of Naruto and one of unknown origin. The latter only tagged along out of curiosity, not that it mattered to Naruto at all. The date had fallen to only one day before the bout.

No one spoke the entire way to the imperial capital. Ross could sense the mood surrounding both of his allies, filled with a deep sense of hatred. Yet he insisted on going despite the dangers because of the Zerobi, Gaara gave up and decided to allow him to go. The large gated city laid out in front of them at last. Hard metal material made up the gate, the same material was used on the castle which made it nearly impenetrable. Two armored guards were quick to halt them in their tracks.

"Stop! In order to enter the great imperial capitol of Teito, a pass signed by one of our generals, counselors, or King Jakob, must be held by one of you." The buff older man spoke smugly. "Present a pass or turn around."

Naruto's anger showed with his facial motions as he pulled the ticket out, "Take a look," he grumbled.

"Oh... You are the special guests..." The older man looked at the thin female guard.

"You guys will be staying at the special guest quarters within the castle. Just follow me." She began to walk into the city, checking back to see if they were following.

The four walked through the city. Unfortunately the three ninja somehow missed the few signs located around the city of the advertisements involving Sasuke as they entered the castle of their greatest enemy. The female soldier brought them to a floor with only two seperate rooms. "The left room is occupied by another special guest; we are going have you use the right. Naruto, King Jakob would like to speak to you directly before this day's end. Enjoy the stay." She left his view and went down the stairs.

"Ross, Sakura, please wait here. I have to go." Naruto mumbled in a depressed slump as he already started to move down the steps.

Sakura fought with her mind for a moment on if she should go or not, quickly deciding no. "I want to find Sasuke...I know he is here somewhere...I, I can just feel it."

"I..." Ross started to speak, stopped for a second then continued, "Go. I'll wait in the room."

Within seconds, Sakura was alone. She didn't know exactly what to do, yet a creeping feeling of unknown overcame her. "Sasuke," left her lips.

"Sakura," another voice replied from behind. The resemblance in voice between this man and Sasuke's were not very different.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned, "Sasu—, you're not him..." Sakura whimped while examining this gray skin person that looked about Naruto's age. "Sorry...you sounded like..."

"Sasuke Uchiha? Yes...I suppose you could say we are close." The young man laughed to himself.

"You, you know him?" She asked with some sort of twisted hope.

"Of course. But that is beside the point. My intentions are accidental so I don't feel like answering your prattling questions." He passed her and began downstairs, then turned back saying, "By the way...I am the one that destroyed Konohagakure."

Sakura tripped over her words as he left downstairs. _He...did what? That was just...a joke, right? A joke...no one would admit to such a terrible thing...unless they actually... _She steadily began to glare at the floor as terror filled her eyes. "Why would such a horrifying person be here...?"

"He isn't only monster staying here." Another man said from behind Sakura's back. "But I have a question that I'd you to answer..." She once again looked back, this time right into Sasuke's emotionless eyes. "Why are you still alive?"

"Sasuke!" She charged at him, slamming her fist into metal wall. Only a small dent was left, identifying how strong the walls truly were. "Where—?"

"Shhhh." Sasuke wrapped his arm around her neck from the rear. "I am sick of you. Although it's a nice change to have a woman attack me instead of fall for me. Sleep..." He crushed his arm against his chest, cracking her neck.

"Ahhh...Sa...suke..." She groaned as his grip tightened. "No..." Air could no longer reach the lungs, life was fading away fast, at least, until the pressure was released.

"Watch yourself...I just might kill you once I am finished with Masaki." Sasuke whispered before vanishing away.

"Sas..." She fell onto her legs, eyes watering. Sakura had always been quick to tears. The droplets fell like a storm. She was alone to wallow away in sadness.

Naruto stepped into the throne room with a grimace on his face. Alone, he faced the above middle aged man on the chair that led this city. "What do you want?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. Kyuubi Jinchuriki of Konoha. I regret your decision to join the rebels, but at least you can join me today for the big show I set up!" Jakob raised his arms.

"What is it we're watching?" Naruto calmly asked.

"Ah, a battle! A battle that will be written in the history books between the only remaining Uchiha! Masaki and Sasuke!" He shouted aloud in the empty room. Naruto's expression grew quizzical. "Of course, you may jump in if you wish. The catch being that you give me the Zerobi jinchuriki. If not...Sasuke WILL die."

"What do you mean he will die!? Sasuke is a monster! The bounty on his head is more than ten times that of any poster I've ever seen. I've seen his power, he'll win." Naruto asserted.

"Masaki will kill him...and unfortunately we will put down Masaki. Then of course your immunity from us will end and we will have you as well as the healer and the Zerobi. Haha..." Jakob stood up from the throne with a disgusting chortle.

"Grr..." Naruto turned his back on the king and walked back toward his room. Just outside he found a weeping Sakura. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I was j, just thinking about what became of Sasuke..." She lied in a way and told the truth in another. "Let's just go to bed... We have to be ready for tomorrow. If I can even bare to watch..."


	23. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

**Arena(Part 1): Two Uchihas**

**AN: Chapter 20. Yay. Here is a minor summary of notable events: Tsunade is dead, Orochimaru is dead, Muhai is Zakiasu, Masaki is to be executed whether he lives or dies against Sasuke, the Mizukage is being held within Kirigakure, and the Sound ninja have formed a truce with the empire. Also Serah may have been written as Sarah because of my stupid-ness. Thank you fans and enjoy.**

"Ladies and Gentleman, I welcome you hear today for this amazing bout that is happening today!" A man, standing upon a podium in front of the arena yelled into a device that amplified his voice so it may be heard throughout the city. Thousands of citizens gathered around the large coliseum with an enormous monitor on it. Nearly every building in the area had a screen attached to it.

"Now! Anyone who purchased the V.I.P ticket may enter through the doors beside this podium! Present the tickets to any of the soldiers to be allowed in to watch the most amazing match this generation will ever see! Warning: children should have parent's permission before being able to watch on screen for possible blood, gore, and language. Anybody without a ticket may watch for free on these special monitors connected to cameras throughout the battlefield!" The man shouted while holding the fedora atop his head.

A little over one hundred people trampled through the crowds in order to present their tickets, a few people were beaten and had their tickets stolen while attempting to get to the arena. All in all, one hundred and eighty people bought the far overpriced V.I.P tickets just to watch Sasuke fight Elite General Shinigami. Naruto was already within the area, sitting in the same box as King Jakob and his daughter, Serah, who secretely worked alongside the rebellion to take down the empire.

Multiple metal boxes with glass windows lined the large circular arena, people on the inside had both access to the television and actually watching the fight. The field within the arena was very plain with only a few trees here and there to maximize fighting potential between both combatants. The glass windows were more than strong enough to take a little over a hundred bullets without so much as a ding. Above the arena was a metal covering that prevented any spectators that hadn't paid from watching.

Naruto and Sakura stared down at the plain grass field with trees speckled around, awaiting Sasuke's appearance. The announcer suddenly began yelling into the speaker, "Now! For the moment advertised! Citizens of Teito, now the two final members of the Uchiha clan, it feels like the massacre was all done just for this single day of battle! The battle to the death between the traiter of Konoha, temporary follower of Orochimaru, and murderer of THE Fifth Hokage, Sasuke Uchiha!"

The plains shook for a moment before the middle opened up to have a rising platform with Sasuke standing upon it. His eyes were filled with readiness and determination, even a strange urge to kill surrounded him. The announcer awaited the crowds amazement to end. Many minutes passed as the mass examined Uchiha from the myriad of camera angles bombarding the screens.

"NOW! For the warrior you have been waiting for, the Elite General of death, one of the greatest forces to ever empower the knights, stronger and more capable than a thousand of our own, Masaki Uchiha, GENERAL SHINIGAMI!" The announcer was full of enthusiasm, not knowing that the man he was cheering on would be killed no matter what the turnout. The citizens were equally as amazed and awed by the discovery of Shinigami's identity, not knowing prior. To their eyes, Sasuke wouldn't stand even the chance of surviving anymore than one minute on the battlefield.

Both Naruto and Sakura were entranced with the vision of their longtime loved one, yet short time friend. Ross grimaced as he set eyes upon the traitorous villain that would kill anyone without remorse. As if to egg him on, Sasuke raised his sights up to the Chunin, avoiding both his former cohorts and snarled. "NOW! Let's hold on tight our seats or whatever the hell it is you are sitting on, standing on, laying on, GET READY for the match to begin...NOW!" After the final word, everything grew deaf, mute.

Masaki stepped forward on the new land that remade itself after both ninja were raised up, his blackened armor glistened in the lights that shot down on the field. The several foot long scythe on his back called out to him, begging to kill. "Sa~suke. My relative. The only other member in the Uchiha clan. My last wish was to be beaten...by you. Do you remember when I told you that I was only going to die if I was killed by you. This is your chance, but I—"

Sparks grazed the air as Sasuke clashed blades with the scythe that Masaki raised to defend himself. "You aren't gonna give me the win? How very cliché, I'm going to kill you for my own pleasure." A purple aura began to fill the air around them, bloodlust tinted the wind, a slight breeze wooshed through the fog as Sasuke cut through it. A delayed noise of metal clanging echoed through the circular arena.

The crowd gasped in surprise. The purple has vanished, leaving Masaki holding his scythe opposite of Sasuke. The dense black armor he wore slowly split apart, sliding off his thin yet buff body to leave a large dent in the false earth under them. A thin line of red liquid was dropping from his chest, through the black under clothing he wore. "That's a one hitter... Damn." Masaki managed to say before joining his armor on the ground.

Boos quickly followed the slash as the people realized what just happened to their strongest protector. Naruto grit his teeth, attempting to comprehend the situation masked with awe. King Jakob himself stood from the throne replica under his bum in order to gawk. "Has hell froze over!?" Jakob yelled out, drawing the cameras to him. "Stand up Shinigami! Show him our power! Don't play dead!"

Sasuke's expression darkened; blood filled his line of sight within the second. He grunted while struggling to stand up; sheer pain overcoming his body. "Fuck!" His swear echoed in the silent area, pure red blood streamed down a gash in his forehead to the left, two other gashes marred his torso, also drizzling the fresh red.

Masaki used the weapon in his hands to get up by pushing off the ground. He took a large breath in as if to counteract the pain in his torso. "You didn't think I would go down that fast...ugh...but nice hit." He snickered despite the injury, then swiftly hopped forward and spun around to face his enemy. "I guess we should get started for real, eh?"


	24. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

**Arena(Part 2): Genjutsu and Fire**

**Sorry I've been absent... I know this doesn't effect you but I have been busy making up my grades to make it to Senior year, not to mention I have been studying Japanese ****大分****in my free time. Now that school finally let out, I can probably post more frequently.**

Masaki and Sasuke glared into each others eyes. The blood of their clan was preserved only in them. They were the last of the legendary Uchiha clan, one of the first ninja groups in the entirety of the world. Now both survivors are forced to fight each other, only a single person shall walk away alive. Blood had already been drawn in the fight, yet to them it hadn't even started.

"Now. Go now. Sasuke! Attack me now! You stupid fuck!" Masaki screamed at decibels far louder than called for, taunting his opponent. "This is your chance to attack me! If you don't take advantage of it now, when will—" In a single quarter of a second, the edge of Sasuke's blade ripped through the undershirt below Masaki's black clothing. "G...ah...Got you."

Everything within the younger Uchiha's eyesight vanished, reappeared, then melted away. Suddenly he was dropping hundreds of feet per second in a never ending blackness. The go to motion of opening his mouth didn't seem to work; words refused to leave no matter how hard he tried. His eyes spun as the Sharingan he had nearly mastered struggled to comprehend the situation and pull him out of it. Countering seemed impossible, it was, as a matter of fact, inescapable.

Each level of Sharingan presents the user with new skills and abilities. As the eye becomes more advanced, it branches off into its own unique skill set. This means that without a doubt, Masaki has a different ability than Sasuke at that level of Sakkaku Sharingan, despite the similarities in design.

Both of Masaki's eyes appeared behind Sasuke as he landed on an invisible black floor. Each circular optic was three times greater than him, as they opened wide. The design was that of the Sakkaku Sharingan, the twirl in spikes, the lightning resembling background, it was a replica of Sasuke's, down to the last detail. "What... What is that you're trying to accomplish? My Genjutsu will outclass your own."

As if it was the eyes speaking, a loud voice rumbled through the blackness, "Sasuke Uchiha. Among other things, overconfidence will only bring you death. If you remember, all I want is you to defeat me, for I am the last obstacle in the path of your greatness. Imagine the fear that people would feel if they know you defeated Elite General Shinigami! Just imagine!" Blood began to drip from a confined ceiling made from the darkness, a black human shaped replica of Masaki shot out of the ground and dropped its scythe down upon Sasuke, who quickly materialized his blade in defense.

A loud clang occurred as the scythe was stopped and pushed back. All over again, another literal shadow clone morphed out the ground and charged at him, the feet it had were merely part of the black. The body stretched forward and swiped at him, the other doing the same from the opposite direction, both creatures ended up digging into each other as Sasuke front flipped, slicing into the right large eye with all his might.

An unrealistically large amount of blood began pouring from the opening. A light peered in from the brand new scar in the plastic-esque pupil, Sasuke struggled to press through the thick layers of the liquid. Succeeding at last, he fell out into a new world. The similarities were uncanny, resemblances shaking Sasuke to the core as he free fell off a large statue of Madara Uchiha, at last splashing in the pool of water at its feet. Final Valley.

An empty reminder of the past is all this place was to Sasuke. "Why did you take me here?" He said in a low voice filled with anger, looking around for his opponent.

"Final Valley is a place to remember the battle in which the First Hokage gave his life to stop his friend Madara. It is also a location where two young Genin battled." Masaki materialized in front of his young clan mate. "Do you know them?"

Sasuke swung the Saikyou No Ken through the image, forcing it to dissipate. "Shut up. This has nothing to do with our fight. So just attack me now!"

Masaki's voice echoed, "I understand. If you truly wish, I shall destroy you." Within seconds of his words leaving, a rain of enormous fireballs dropped from the suddenly dark sky. Each one hammered into the earth around him, leaving craters far deeper than reality would believe. He preformed a well executed back flip that led him to Madara's right leg. The fire orbs continued to rain, now homing in wherever he seemed to go. Another flip threw Sasuke toward one of the craters, barely making it onto footing.

_Damn. I have to get out of this... If it's really only a Genjutsu, it should be pretty simple to escape. _Sasuke grunted in pain, his blade now well into his right upper arm. In a split moment all returned to normal, Masaki and Sasuke now across from each other with their original wounds. "I already get it. You can use Genjutsu. But...what I wanna know is if you can keep up with me in reality."

"You don't know who it is that you're talking to..." Masaki snickered. An uneasy feeling hit everyone in the audience for a small moment, but once the moment past, everything was as it was at the start of the fight. "Clever. Sakkaku Sharingan at work. Yes it has only been a single minute since we started." He stretched his arms in the black armor now protecting him again. It seemed as if the people only experienced déjà vu to an incredible extent, even Naruto was none the wiser.

"The fresh smell of your blood with stain the glass...as I rip you apart with my power." Sasuke held his blade at the ready. A strange purple smoke began to engulf his body, shrouding his presence from anyone unable to sense Chakra. "The number I choose is fifteen."

Masaki glared at the smoke as if he had seen it before, as if he knew what was about to happen. "You have made a deal with a God," he uttered. Naruto ran to the edge of the V.I.P section so he could attempt to see through the unknown. Sakura followed behind him at practically the same moment, both with worried looks.

Sasuke stepped from the almost gone purple haze with a psychotic smile. Purple lines down his cheeks, the backs of both his arms, and down his chin. The tattooed marks on his arms ended in a circle on the backs of each palm. The Sharingan was overtaken with purple as well, perhaps making it more menacing. "Come on...I dare you. I FUCKING DARE YOU!"

A loud clang represented both Uchihas as they clashed weapons. The "Death Scythe" had the advantage being the shape it was. It easily yanked the Saikyou No Ken from Sasuke's hands, giving Masaki a quick punch toward his stomach. But the connection didn't occur. The balled up fist missed its target, the target that had absolutely no opportunity to miss. Masaki took a quick look around the dome, the Sharingan quickly picked up on its target. "On the wall—"

"Fire style: Fire God's Breath!" Sasuke spit out a flame large enough to take out multiple elephants. It was tinted a noticeable black-purple, embodying the power of Yemma. The intense heat even melted through the metal to the skin of each audience member, causing instantaneous sweat. The fires exploded into the artifical ground on and around Masaki, deactivating quite a few cameras and setting fire to the grass and trees.

From inside the burning, Masaki spun out with scythe in hand, ripping by Sasuke as he vanished within an afterimage. Kicking him upwards from his backside, Sasuke once again vanished, reappearing once more to slam him back to the flames, blood spewing from his mouth. "You can't win against me. I am fueled by a God."


	25. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

**Arena(Final): Escape from Teito**

**AN: More excuses, but my dog was hit by a car and died and I just went on vacation. Very miserable. But still trying to write.**

Both of Sasuke's former comrades stared in awe at the ongoing battle. Naruto felt strangely happy at his rival having so much power. Sakura on the other hand was terrified by what he had become, thoughts swarmed her mind together with terrible memories. Sasuke may be the enemy Sunagakure should focus on.

_That old man was some kind of God? This whole time...I guess I should've kept my eyes open wider. I don't understand why he would want Tsunade dead. Isn't a deity supposed to help people? Gah, what the hell am I thinking right now? _Sasuke shook his head to erase any deep thought. His opponent was not visible due to the amount of flames surrounding the entire field, none of the audience could see him, however, the Sharingan was a different story. _What is this...? My eyes...my vision is purple? But only when I use the Sharingan. Doesn't matter anyway. _"Are you going to get up? I am getting sick of waiting!"

A sudden terror filled Sasuke as a shadow grabbed him from behind. "Oh don't mind me..." Masaki chuckles, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's neck. As the fire shrunk, instead of a human, Masaki's black armor was within the flames. "Too bad, I used a Shadow Clone and gave it my armor...so I could get faster. Clearly you are strong enough to punch through my armor."

Sasuke struggled for air, placing both hands on Masaki's arms. "Fr...stil," he barely managed to let out. "Gds...ora..." A sudden flicker illuminated the entire arena in yellow, a penetrating sound came with it, shaking the very ground under them.

Naruto screamed for his childhood friend while keeping both eyes shut tight. The light vanquished itself as quickly as it appeared, wreckage was widespread within the confounds of the dome. The ground was filled with craters, mechanical equipment thrown across the area. Both Uchiha stood upon the walls across from each other, the ground collapsing under them. Masaki's entire outfit was ripped apart, burns covering his body here and there, not as bad as one would expect. "My family. Sasuke Uchiha. You...are a demon."

"Resorting to calling names? Or maybe you're just...speaking the truth. It's been fun but I have to get out of here. But where to..." Sasuke took his eyes of his opponent for a moment of weakness. Said moment gave Masaki an opening that he made use of with a speedy punch in the stomach, moving across the arena in milliseconds.

A multitude of punches followed behind the first as Sasuke lost balance after the fist. A direct fist to the face threw him against the wall; Masaki then peeled the body off the dome and tossed it into the mess of gears, fire, and dirt below. A purple glimmer of light shined for a moment within the destruction. Both feet held sturdily in Sasuke's former place on the side of the arena. "See what happens when you get lost in thought? Maybe now you see...you...see..."

Masaki was kneeling in a strangely black inverted world, both arms hanging out on both sides. Surprise overcame him, then a small hint of fear the moment he realized he couldn't move at all. Footsteps echoed off in the distance, then right behind him. "This," the familiar voice began to say, "is the world I crafted just for you. Tsukiyomi." Sasuke walked past the immobile man. "I promise to torture you until you die in the real world."

"I can talk..." Masaki tested the air with his words. "You are going to torture 'me'? Ha...hahaha. The situation isn't as easy as it looks."

"Oh? Interesting." Sasuke walked to his side and carefully placed his hands upon Masaki's outstretched right arm as if to massage it in the correct locations. "I kinda feel..." Sasuke carefully held his position. "The situation is..." A loud snap noise crackled through the air while blood began to splash against the floor. The crackling sound was similar to a nail being dragged slowly against a chalkboard. "Exactly where I want it." Sasuke ripped off the arm in a way that left a small bit of Masaki's bone, barely covered with flaps of blood red skin. The pain was far greater than a human being could handle, past the point of screaming.

Masaki couldn't bear to move in the slightest bit, his body began a numbing sensation, leaving only the scourging wound. He opened his mouth to scream, despite being so held together, but, no sound could come out. The unimaginable terror of being stuck like this began to eat away at his mind. Footsteps suddenely drew his attention as Sasuke walked around him toward his other arm. A horrific ripping crunching like noise absorbed his range of hearing.

From the wall of the arena, Masaki awkwardly fell off into the pit of destroyed technology and fire. Freshly oiled mechanisms finally caught wind of the flames in order to cause a massive explosion that shot up past the open roof causing panic among the crowds of evacuating spectators. Soldiers were sent up to the King's booth with directions to get him to safety. Jakob refused, sending the persistent young knights away after a one sided argument.

Naruto turned back to Jakob's slightly wrinkled snickering face with indecision. "I..." he stuttered, "won't give you him." Sakura pushed past him, grabbing hold of Ross and jumping out of the King's booth. Bullets whistled by her as she made the short trip to the open roof of the arena, releasing the Jinchuuriki. Naruto charged the few meters seperating him from Jakob, violently grabbing him against the wall. "I would never give up one friend to save another! And there is no way Sasuke would ever need protection or accept it!"

"Brave..." Jakob uttered through the loose chokehold holding him. "But stupid." A hand grasped Naruto's shoulder from behind, startling the Genin.

"Do ya hafta get so violent? You aren't supposed to touch the King anyway..." A familiar voice. He turn his head around to catch eyes with Leon Kuwagawa. "Hey again!" he cheerfully stated.

_Oh Leon's here? Great he can help me with— wait a second, he's my enemy! Or...is he? _Naruto released his grip and reached for his head in confusion, Leon quickly yanked him back toward the edge of the booth and made sure Jakob was okay. "H-hey! Leon what are you doing? Be careful! That guy is the leader of the empire!"

"Oh? I didn't know..." Leon glanced at his king as if examining him to continue the bluff. "I will handle him, just make sure Sakura is safe!" he acted, rather badly. Naruto nodded in confirmation and jumped after Sakura and Ross.

The three ninja stood information upon the roof, eyeing any easy escape route through the assembling soldiers surrounding the arena. Citizens were pushing away, running for dear life, except a few brave enough to stay. Needless to say soldier forced them to move without regard to safety. Sakura grunted then spoke, "let's split up!"

Ross nodded in agreement but Naruto seemed much more hesitant. "What if one of us doesn't make it? What if you don't make it!?" he cried out.

"Naruto shut up! I can take care of myself!" Sakura charged off toward the east. Ross glanced at Naruto before heading off into the opposite direction. Finally Naruto gave in and jumped to the nearest building roof. The arena began to release flames from many different directions, nearing an explosion.

Sakura jumped around, slowly encroaching toward the outskirts. Bullets and gunfire from the knights barely missing as she carefully navigated in the chaos. It was in a matter of minutes until she could reach the plains around Teito. A feeling of relief hit her, then worry for Naruto and Sasuke. Unfortunately she was not alone.


	26. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

**Evacuation**

**AN: My life is crap...CRAP! Alright here is the next chapter...**

"We give your friend a pass into our fair city and this is what you do? Escape is forbidden once you enter Teito and you have done it twice. Sakura Haruno. This is your final hour..." A strange voice interrupted the calm peace of the field that Tsunade's apprentice stood in. Footsteps began behind her, approaching closer and closer until she turned to see nothing. "Normally fighting woman is a taboo for me but you just happen to have the type of power I can't falter toward. Now witness visions of the hell you are about to experience as it happens to you!"

Chills climbed up Sakura's spine as she quickly looked around for the man in control of the voice. A swooshing sound caught her attention as she grabbed hold of the blade that was swung from behind. "And who're you?" She confidently asked with a strong grip on the weapon with the gloves given to her by Tsunade nearly three years ago after the war.

"You needn't concern yourself with my name. I am only a loyal knight of Teito." The sword wielding fully armored man spoke with a slight oddity. His face was shielded by a triangular helmet. "Now prepare to join us! Or die!" He swung the blade around the opposite direction after easily yanking out of her hands.

Sakura dropped to the right, avoiding the oncoming attack and countering with a swift blow to his left lower torso armor. The power input was far more than required, thrusting the heavy man nearly a meter off the grass then face first back into it. "I'll never help you people. Jakob is a power hungry monster and only Sunagakure can put him in his place."

Blood dripped from the bottom of his helmet as he struggled to stand. Sakura surmised the hit destroyed his intestines and kidney, quickly bringing forth internal bleeding. The Knight shook rapidly while holding the gun up, pointing it at her face. "What can a sword do if you can barely hold it?" She didn't realize it was a Ganburedo type until it had already been fired.

The roof of the Arena was quickly falling apart. The noise of metal screeched loud as the whole place slowly started imploding. Sasuke's fist exploded into the roof, leaving an enormous purple singed hole. Masaki easily dodged the attack as Sasuke ripped into the top again, missing the struggling Shinigami once more. Blood trailed behind both of them from similar cut wounds from their weapons. "Why the fuck can't you stand still!?" Sasuke yelled, his anger reaching a boiling point.

Destruction roared in the Arena as it finally gave in to itself and dropped. The sound was far more than loud enough to be heard anywhere. Both Uchiha met in midair, each holding the weapons they relied on as the shockwave tore them apart in both directions. At the same time, both crashed into empty buildings hundreds of meters apart. Nearly everyone was evacuated within a mile radius.

The Arena collapse startled Ross and sent him off balance and into the alley between two buildings. He picked up fast enough and ran out into the street to see what had happened. Soldiers surrounded him the instant he saw the smoke I'm the middle of town. Each held a Ganburedo that could easily kill any human. "Crap. This isn't good."

"It isn't so bad!" A familiar person walked out into the circle. "I'm here," Leon smiled with a chuckle.

"Ah Leon! Nice to see you made it okay," Ross spoke before he even realized what he said. "No...I mean I refuse to go with you."

**Hahaha. Finally getting it are you? Too bad this time I have decided to come out. Been awhile since I could kill so many. **Darkness exploded out in a circle around Ross. Each soldier was ordered not to fire unless directed to, leaving each of them defenseless as they were slaughtered.

Leon whistled in an amused way. "Looks like I have to fight...but I don't really remember how," he laughed. The blackness vanished away leaving only the two living beings against each other. "Seriously. Fighting a tailed beast isn't something I wanna do."

"**It's too bad. Whatever ability it is that enables you to trick humans doesn't work on me. Fighting is the only way." **A slight purple aura engulfed Ross' body, leaving a monsterous appearance with only a mouth and eyes. The earth dented a perfect circle under them as the beast lunged forward, slashing with it's hand like claws. Blood splattered onto floor, followed by the entrails from inside a human. A dead soldier body levitated in between them, blood spilling from the deep cut located upon its stomach.

"Oh wait. I just remembered how fights work. And what I can do," Leon cracked another smile. The body was suddenely thrown aside. He pulled a Ganburedo from his back and sliced it into the Zerobi, blood leaked from its upper torso. The purple chakra receded slightly from around the wound. "Time to become a part of us, beast."

Teito was in chaos. With the Arena's destruction, the center of the city is being covered with flames and spreading quickly due to the usual amount of wind. The Elite Generals were all active at the time, even Serah. She was leading a rebellion group of those that hated Jakob's rule at this exact moment. Naruto just happened to encounter her while escaping.

"So you saved the Konoha 11? Even Sakura... Thanks princess!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Shut up! Don't say that out loud! If I am found out I will be killed or perhaps even tortured with all of the filler episodes..." Serah gulped in worry.

"Fill...er? Never mind. I'm sorry. But I have to go," Naruto said while hopping up onto a garbage can then up toward the roofs.

"Good luck!" She shouted. The people around quickly quieted her. "Ah, sorry. There is an underground passage somewhere—here." She pulled a lamp post with a large amount of force, somewhere causing the ground to slide open. "The tunnel networks will lead you out."

"Will you join us?" A frail older lady politely asked.

"Afraid not. Father can't know about this just yet." She apologized then turned away. Five soldiers stood in her path, each armed.

"Princess Serah, what is this? Where does that path lead and who the hell are these civilians!?" The middle seemingly lead knight yelled. All the innocent people had already scurried down to the underground passages.

"Dammit Naruto... You dumb fuck." She mumbled, heaving the large golden blade from her back with both hands. "I can't let you guys live now..." A strong gust blew, causing the guards to shield their eyes and hold the weapons tight. By the time the knights regained vision, the middle knight had been ripped apart by the young slim blonde lady known as both the princess and one of the three Elite Generals. "Please forgive me."


	27. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

**Battle of Teito(part 1):**

**Start**

**AN: Sorry for the inconsistencies.**

The moon had finally decided to come out into the darkened sky after a long day. Despite the peaceful ambience, the city of Teito under its bright light was in chaos. Chaos that was not about to let up anytime soon.

Hundreds of meters off the border of Teito, there were people. A small hundred of them. Armed with weapons and a strong general. The people that had managed to escape the dangers of inner Teito had no idea what was about to happen to the city. Moonlight shined down upon the dark red hair of the leader as his somewhat raspy voiced ordered, "attack."

Soldiers surrounded Naruto completely. Somehow he ended up on the street and within seconds was swarmed with them. His eyes skimmed across each and every one. "Seventeen," he mumbled, "crap."

"We have been ordered to take you out as fast as possible. Naruto Uzumaki." One of the closer soldiers valiantly stepped forward. "So men...fire!"

Bullets cut through the air, giving Naruto almost no time to react, but more than enough to jump up into the air. Friendly fire quickly brought down six knights as the projectiles whisked past each of them and into others. Men screaming in pain filled the cold air that then literally froze. Ice engulfed all of the soldiers, appearing from the hard ground, seemingly out of nowhere. Naruto's sandals clacked down on a solid stretch of the ice, Sage's Robe upon him and Sage's Staff in hand. "I'm sorry it had to come to this," he whispered. "But I decided I am going to find Sakura and no one can get in my way."

Blood streamed down Sakura's pale white face as she regained consciousness. Pain made it nearly impossible to move more than inch, yet she struggled to find the wound. One of Ganburedo projectiles managed to dig itself into her skull. Memories began returning, remembering the skirmish that occurred. A moonlit shadow stood over her. "Oh...still alive I see." The familiar voice of the knight that she beat came into mind. Red liquid of nearly the same amount could be seen in and around his mouth. "G...Good...Jakob ordered me to keep you alive."

She couldn't manage to say anything, not a single word, during his abrupt movement of her body. He lifted her thin torso up onto his cold hard back. "Now...we will...grhg. We will go back to the castle," he barely managed to say.

Suddenely she found herself on the ground again. But it wasn't really a fall for she had been caught by someone. This touch was familiar. Someone else spoke out, "Man this is such a drag... But it's good to see you're both okay."

"But Sakura is hurt bad. We have to do something!" The person holding her yelled, then redirected itself. "Sakura can you hear me? Please be okay... Please!"

Her makeup free eyes opened with the speed of a cheetah once it became clear who it was. "Naruto..." Sakura smiled. Shikamaru stood beside the crouched blonde ninja with one hand on his back and the usual tired eyes.

"Yo. Guys we have to get out of here." Shikamara broke up the touching moment between the two. "Teito is about to be a large battlefield. Gaara is leading a large troop of the most elite ninja upon the city. We need to go meet up with him and get away from this place." He faced toward the direction where the Kazekage set up camp.

Within the middle of the city, Sasuke removed the large rubble covering him with an explosion of purple energy. The sky distorted around the stream of purple that he left behind after a large four story jump down to the street. Two feet sized craters were imprinted deep into the earth with the impact. Masaki threw a quick fist past his face, missing by centimeters, followed by a low kick, which was hopped over with ease. Sasuke carefully avoided a third strike and countered with a swift punch in the stomach. "My power is much greater than yours. You are just a little too old to fight me."

"Cocky... I...am only...a few years older than you..." Masaki painfully snickered, latching onto Sasuke's wrist, still deep in his gut. "My age...gives me intelligence." A shin kick tossed Sasuke off balance as a multitude of kicks came after, Masaki still holding tightly onto his arm.

"Losing?" A voice laughed through the empty city. "I thought you were so much more powerful than this, but, I guess maybe I overestimated your strength." From one of the stores near them, Muhai stepped out into the street. "You aren't going to let such a young ninja beat you, right?"

"What are you doing here?" Masaki pushed the weakened Sasuke back multiple meters and sent him tumbling to the floor. "And why do you care if I lose to this ninja?"

"I didn't realize that by defeating you, the empire would send you to death. But it's kinda funny. Either way, you are going to die here by an agent of a God." Muhai's eyes gave off a strange glow for multiple seconds. "Don't lose Sasuke, I'd rather not have to clean up after you."

The long dirt road was sliced down the middle with a large purple beam that decimated a building at the end. Leon continued laughing, having taken one step to the left to dodge the deadly blast. The Zerobi threw it's arm forward, somehow causing it to grow in length until it reached the Elite General. A single large swing was all it could manage as he hopped over it and dropped his Ganburedo onto it, ripping it from the main body. "I thought you would be more challenging. But then again I am one of the greatest in all of Teito...or maybe all of the Shinobi nations."

Ross's body sprouted two more arms from the back area of the dark purple aura that stuck to his skin. The right grew large in size and attempted to slam the earth along with Leon. Both arms were suddenly sliced off with such incredible precision that it could've been mistaken for purple butter as Leon swiped past them. The earth then dented in under both of them, sand crushed them into earth, leaving only the heads visible. "Thank goodness...I made it in time to get you." The dark rasp of Gaara's voice scraped against their ears. "Time to remove yourself from the battlefield."


End file.
